The Ascension - Dawn of the Dragon Gods
by Ultimate Rising Phoenix
Summary: The story of the entities behind the Dragon Realm of Spyro. This is the story of the Gods and Goddess of the Dragon World, and about how they started, and how they came to be what they are now,Co-written with Two Fellow Fanfiction Writers,Read and Review but no Flames Please.
1. Tea Among Gods

**And here, we have a brand new story, one idea giving by a new friend of mine, who wished to see his OCs depicted into a story. I hope you all can like it and enjoy this story as I did my very best into it, and I'll still do. Hope you all can enjoy it.**

* * *

Malefor has been defeated.

The world been saved, and the two young heroes flew across the land. There were enjoying the morning sun hitting their scales. They both just endured something that no one of their age should have faced. In fact no one should ever have to face what they did. Many trails, hardships, and losses they faced together; however, in the end they stood victorious.

Now there were enjoying flying together, embraced in each other company, as they laughed and joked around. This was a completely happy and peaceful moment for them. One they haven't had in a long time.

However, little did they know that someone was watching over them…

 _Into the Divine Realms, right above the Mortal Planes_

Surrounded by several clouds, a giant castle with walls that seemed to be made of pure light stood. The roof of the ceiling seemed to be made out of golden light, almost translucent and with a light of its own. In the hoof, there was a giant garden, with several plants and flowers that had their own light, and that bloomed around.

In the verge of the balcony stood a dragoness, looking down the edge, seemingly to the clouds below. Smiling to herself as she looked down, far beyond what a mortal's eyes could reach, to the

two young dragons far below herself and her kingdom. This dragoness was a marvelous sight to anyone who looked at her She had creamy-white scales all over her body, with silvery blue underbelly and wing membranes. All of her scales seemed to glisten and shine on their own. She had a furry white mane around her neck, which traveled down her back, and all the way to the tip of her tail. She was a symbol of beauty, and any dragon who put his eyes on her would gladly give his own life if she asked him to.

"They did it." She said, with a voice that sounded like a choir of thousands of lyres, as she smiled to herself. Happy to see the two young dragons fulfilling their destiny, and saving the world. Closing her eyes, she let the peace and happiness fill her; however, it wasn't long before she heard a familiar voice

"Seems like our champions did their job splendidly."

She opened her eyes, and the smile never left her face. She turned around to see who her visitor was. It was dragon, with a magnificent figure, dark-red colored scales all over his body, a golden colored underbelly and wing-membranes. His horns were on the top of his head, and on the tip of his tail, a fireball burning into a soft golden color.

He was smiling softly at the white dragoness, as she smiled back at him. Slightly bowing her head in a sign of compliment and respect, which the red dragon did in return.

She then spoke, with her beautiful musical voice saying, "Glad you came here to pay me a visit, Apollonir."

The red dragon offered a kind smile at her, as she got up, and walked next to him.

"It is always good to pay a visit to an old friend, Lars Lion," Apollonir said as he smiled at her.

She chuckled, which could make all the babies of the world immediately stop crying and smile at her.

"You never loses your charm, do you?" she asked him, which made him chuckle in return. "Want something to drink?" She asked, "Maybe some tea perhaps?"

"Tea would be nice," The magnificent red dragon said as he walked next to her. They both walked into the garden, and as they walked across it, a small table seemed to materialize itself out of thin air. The table was made out of some kind of silvery light, and standing there as they came near. Sitting on top of the table, was what seemed to be a teapot. It also was made out of silvery light, and had a symbol of a shield with a lion's face on it. The two tea cups sitting across from each other, also had symbol on their base.

Lars Lion picked the teapot up, and gently poured the tea. It was a glowing substance, with a fragrance that would make the most perfumed roses of the world seem without smell. She passed the cup to Apollonir, and then picked up her cup.

Apollonir thanked her, and gently picked up his cup. Guiding it to his maw, he took one gentle sip of the sweet and soft substance. He let it spread over his tongue, and gently flow down his throat as he swallowed. He looked at his old friend, as she took her own sip of the fluid in her own cup. He smiled, and took another sip.

She sighed as she smiled, and asked "So, you came here to celebrate?" He looked at her, as she continued, "After all, our Champions did defeat the great evil."

The red dragon chuckled, and said "Yes, they did a splendid job in there. They showed such power and such bravery facing fear like that. Especially at such young age."

Lars Lion chuckled at him, and replied, "They did what was necessary, and they did no different than we both did a long time ago."

Apollonir nodded, and said "Yet, there were some of us that didn't believed that they would make it." Lars Lion knew who he was talking about.

"Well, I guess even some of us Gods must swallow their words once in a while," She said. Apollonir laughed, "Try saying this to Glacius or Hazard."

He smiled at her as she chuckled, "Well, I guess they are probably rethinking their own words about the two young dragons."

"Well, anyway, they should be as happy as the rest of us, after all, they did completed their mission." Lars Lion said.

Apollonir nodded at her, "Yes, seems that you were right again. And you know that Glacius and Hazard both hate when you are." replied Apollonir, as they both shared a chuckle.

Lars then looked at him, as she sighed. She watched him taking another sip of his tea. After a few moments of silence, she said, "I'm happy that they made it through." Apollonir looked at her, when she said that, "I was scared about them." She admitted. He looked at her, as Lars continued, "The probation we put them through was too great, and they are both so young. No one their age should have to go through it."

Apollonir looked at Lars as she spoke. He agreed with her, as he thought about all the suffering these two young dragons went through, all they had to give up, and all that they had lost in their quest. For a brief moment, the fire on the tip of his tail changed from yellow to a blueish color. After another moment, he raised his head to her saying, "It was necessary."

"I know, but yet, it was too hard on them." She replied, seeming a bit sad. After a moment, she recovered her smile then said, "But, I'm very happy that, in the end, they have really made it."

When he saw her smiling, Apollonir's own smile returned, as the fireball on his tail returned to that golden color. Lars smiled at him, and asked, "Want some cookies?"

He gladly accepted, and soon a plate of golden light materialized. There on the plate sat a few cookie-like food, that seemed to be made out of some kind of cloud, with a few hints of what seemed to be stars making out with what should be the chocolate drops. Lars offered a few to the Apollonir, who gladly picked one up. Biting it, and chewing them gladly. He let himself feel the taste that was never meant for any mortal.

Apollonir smiled as he ate it, as Lars ate one herself. She left the plate with the rest of them sit to the side, so they could reach it if any of them wanted another.

Lars then asked, "So, is everyone happy with the result?"

Apollonir smiled at her, "As far as I know, everyone seems to be satisfied, even Glacius." He said, smiling at Lars, as she smiled back. She knew that Glacius was not very much into being "happy", but she knew that even the cold and harsh Dragon God of the Ice could become really pleased when things went just the right way. She knew that deep inside, he cared about the mortals and about the world, as much as her, the Dragon Goddess of Light, and as her dear friend Apollonir, the Dragon God of Fire; however, the cold dragon would most likely never admit it.

Lars sighed as she looked around her garden. Admiring the beauty of her own creation. The beautiful flowers made out of light, that were eternally young and eternally blooming. She made sure to make them as beautiful as she wanted them to be. It was good to come there occasionally, and look at them, especially when she had doubts, or the rare occasions when she felt sad. She made them amazingly beautiful, and she always look to at them. To remind herself that, even with all the cruelty and difficulties in the world. There was still beauty and innocence, which always brought happiness, if you could look at the right place.

The garden was a good place to visit. To a mortal, the chances of seeing a place so beautiful like this was an opportunity of a life time. It would never be at the same level of anything else. As for the Gods, it was a place they could go once in a while. Pay a visit and relax in the beauty of the garden, so they could forget their problems. Even Glacius, so cold and so harsh as the cruelest winter, did come in there once in a while. Everyone knew that deep inside him. He even admired the beauty of the work of Lars, as he needed it to recover his strength to face the future.

This was a work of art, beyond what any mortal would be able to accomplish, and only the skillfulness of a goddess would be able to make it. It was Lars Lion's work, and she was very proud of it. All the artists in the mortal world could only dream a place like this, and maybe someday accomplish just a small piece of all this beauty.

Apollonir also admired the beauty of this place. Sure, if he was asked many eons ago if someday he would have the chance of being in a place like this. He highly doubted if the answer would be a yes. He knew that Lars doubted that someone would say that she would have a beautiful garden like the one she was in now.

Apollonir smiled at her, and said "It makes a long time," She looked at him, as he continued "A long time has passed, since the time we were normal dragons, and we are what we are now. Do you remember it?"

Lars smiled at him, "Of course I remember. We all do, even if some of us are actually trying to forget it," She said, and he nodded at her, knowing that her words were the utmost truth. He smiled at her as she talked to him. She said "I do remember how it was like. Being young, being full of worries and needs, and begin full of doubts. It was a long time ago, but I can still remember it very clearly."

And so did Apollonir. He as well could still remember that he was living a very different life a long time ago.

They all had a different life a long time ago. They all had started differently from what they were now.

"It's the start of a new era in the mortal kingdoms," she said to him, as he nodded. Lars then asked, "And the new Chronicler?"

Apollonir smiled at her, and said, "The fire guardian Ignitus has just taken over the position." He said as he smiled, "He has gladly taken the post, and now, he will be recording all the story of the mortal world during this new era till the start of the next.

Lars nodded at this answer. The Chronicler was an important part of the world, a part that, like them, was somewhat eternal; however, the spirit of a mortal dragon must fill it. A spirit whom takes charge of recording all that happens in the world, and keeping the knowledge so it should never be forgotten. As a position filled by mortal souls, it was necessary to be replaced at the beginning of each new era, representing the changing of the world.

Now the role fell over the spirit of the Fire Guardian, Ignitus, the one who created and trained Spyro, the great Champion. Ignitus now lived in the mortal world as the new guardian of all knowledge, keeper of the history, and of all the secrets of the world.

Lars was a bit grieving about it. For she, as well as many others, had saw how much Spyro became devastated by the death of his mentor. She wanted to allow Ignitus to return to the mortal world, and to go back to Spyro. He could be the fatherly figure that had been missing to the young purple dragon in his life; however, she couldn't. It was an important job, and it needed to be done. Ignitus was the most qualified to the role of Chronicler, with his wisdom and all his abilities, because the role was a requirement to keep the world working.

Despite wanting the happiness of the young dragon, she also had a duty as a Goddess. That meant that she needed to put the need of the whole world above the needs of one single dragon, despite how sorry she felt for him.

"So, it is over?" Apollonir asked her, snapping her back into the reality of the present moment. She face him once again, her look making him regret asking her.

"You know that it costs very much to truly end. Especially when it comes to "him" She said, in a dark tone that didn't fit her.

As she mentioned "him" Apollonir's expressions became heavier, and his lips curled into a half snarl. It would be enough to make even the bravest of all living dragons to recoil in fear and cry out like little hatchlings. The flame on his tail changed to a strong and threatening crimson, as it reflected the anger that was burning inside of him as that one was brought up.

"I wish we could just destroy him already!" Apollonir almost snapped, as the flames on his tail turned stronger. His anger would make armies recoil in fear, but Lars Lion was the most unaffected by his wrath. She only looked at him for a while, with a soft expression on her face. Apollonir looked at her, as she just looked at him. It was just like a caring mother, as he took a deep breath. Soon the red colors of his tail diminished, and was being replaced by a softer color while he was calming down.

"Sorry about that." He said, as she answered, "It's okay. Glacius reacts much worse when we mention "him", "She said, as she had already had seen the famous angry outbursts of the Ice God. She had already seen him angry many times, and he was the most inclined to become dangerously angry and cause damage to the ambient around him.

The truth was that, they all hold a strong grudge against "him", and they all did not like to even mention him, so as not to bring up bad memories. He was a black stain in their past, and a bad memory for all of them. They all had tasted in their own skin the extent of his power and malice, and saw firsthand what he was able to do. They all wished to forget "him" and so did the whole world.

But it wasn't possible. It was not simple. When it came to Gods, it was never simple.

Apollonir took one last breath to calm himself down, as he and Lars shared a last look. They both sipped more of their tea to calm down. Apollonir ate two more of the light cookies. He sighed, as he looked at her. She was still looking at her flowers, and Apollonir did the same. Their beauty helped to wash away his worries and his anger. Soon the fire God had calmed down, and said calmly to her, "I just wish he could have disappeared all these eons ago," His tone was distant and almost grieving, "He had caused everyone so much suffering, and I wish we could have destroyed him at that time when we had the chance."

Lars looked at him, and said, "We did try," She was comforting as she said that, "But he was a god long before us, and you know that even the memory of a god has power. He cannot be destroyed easily, and we can't do that, even with all our power."

Apollonir sighed, because he knew that she was right; however, this did not diminished his desire for wanting to destroy that cursed being when he had he chance. If he did, then all of this would never had happened. All the suffering would have been avoided, and these two young dragons would never had to be forced to fight.

Sighing, he looked at the flowers, which were still blossoming. Butterflies made out of pure light flew over them, from one to the other. He looked at them, and then he looked at Lars Lion, who offered him a soft smile. He was able to smile back as he watched the butterflies she just created for him. She always knew how to make others feel better, and it was long before their ascension. She always liked making others happy, and that was one of the things about her that never changed.

They all were different now, they all were much more than they were before, and yet, there were things about them that would never truly change. It was how they were, and who they were always going to be.

He himself had not changed that much since he was just a mortal. It was a long time ago, but he could still remember it with perfect clarity.

As if it had been yesterday.


	2. The Fiery Thief

The day had just rose on the great city of Grahar. Dragons of all kind walked across the streets, carrying purses full of coins and other products that were bought in the market. Dragons of all colors went to and fro, minding their own business, as they walked across each part of the market. One of the main places of the city, and one of the reasons the city was so famous.

Dragons minded their own affairs, as they bought fruits, meat, some artisanal products, and several other things that they would need. Changing their golden coins that had an image of a dragon's head printed on it. The coins were traded for goods and services around the market, which made them the official coin of the kingdom. It was at the reach of most of people, which made it one of the most important coins around, because of its stability and value.

It was a peaceful day into the market, and it seemed that it was going to happen without incidents. Then all of a sudden:

"THIEF!" Someone screamed. Breaking the peace and silence, making the other dragons turn around to look.

"Thief! Get him!" screamed a brown colored dragon, as a dragon ran away from him. Carrying on his shoulder a big purse filled with food, arranging from fruits and meat to bread. All of the items were recently made and smelled delicious.

This dragon who was running was not much older than a teenager; however, he was almost as big as an full adult dragon. Maybe he was a young adult, from someone with experienced eyes. His scales are colored red, with a cream colored underbelly and wing membrane. He had a set of white horns coming out of his head, and a long tail, which ended into a flame-shaped tail blade of white color. His eyes were crimson colored, and his lips were curled into a sly smile as he ran.

Snatching the food from that guy was almost too easy. The red dragon smiled to himself as he passed in a dash by the other dragons all around him, knowing that no one was going to stop him. These rich guys didn't minded if some merchant was robbed right in front of them, as long as they could get the things they wanted from him. Dragons with money rarely cared for what did not affected them directly.

His true worry were the guards, and he needed to find a way out of the market before they appeared. He needed to get out of the market, because once he was out, he could take flight, and then he could simply disappear. He just needed to keep running before-

"You, stop!" someone screamed behind him. Taking a daring look behind him, the red dragon groaned to himself as he saw that he was now being chased by three bulky dragons. All of them was wearing armor over their bodies with the mark of a silhouette of a dragon in their breastplate. It was the mark of the royal family and of the kingdom.

They were from the guard.

The red dragon instantly knew he was in deep trouble, because if he was caught. He would probably be taken under arrest, so he knew that he needed to escape. Turning his head back forwards, he speed up his pace, passing over dragons on his way and skillfully dodging each one of them as a professional racer. Years of running for his life made him very swift.

He quickly dodged the dragons in his way without losing any speed. He startled a lot of dragons who almost got caught on his way. Making some jump, and some actually stumble and fall to the ground. The red dragon barely took mind of them, because he was too busy in finding his way out before he fall to the clutches of the guard. He had already be in their power before, and he knew that they had their own ways of "persuading" someone to confess to a crime. He got to know these ways very well, and had a few broken bones to prove it.

He hurried his step as he ran, and he went past several dragons on his way. He was creating a huge distance from himself and the guards. Maybe he was going to make it calmly to the exit. However, as he ran, he saw a small dragonling in a corner. It was looking around and crying out "Mommy!"

But what caught his attention, was a great pile of boxes just above the kid. They seemed like they were about to fall, because the rope holding them was about at its breaking point.

He looked behind himself, at the guards that were screaming "Stop! In name of the king!" and then back at the small hatchling that was crying out for it's mommy. He looked, and saw a dragoness looking at the hatchling. "Siberius!" she called, and the hatchling turned to look at her. It cried out "MOMMY!" however, in this same moment, the rope snapped, which made the boxes start to fall over onto the poor helpless hatchling.

His mind going in a blank, the red dragon ran past the dragons and straight at the poor kid, who looked up in horror as it saw the boxes falling.

Quick as a lightning, the red dragon dashed over and jumped, picking the small dragon up and taking it out of harms way, just at the exact moment the boxes crunched on the ground. Without slowing down, he made a mortal leap, and gently placed the hatchling on the back of its mother's neck.

He landed back to the ground and resumed his pace. Leaving behind a stunned dragoness and her dizzy hatchling on her back. They were both unsure of what just had happened. Soon the guard passed by them, still chasing after the runaway thief, so they could capture him.

The red dragon kept running as the guard were right on his tail, ordering him to stop, but he knew that doing so would be a BIG mistake. So, he kept running, aiming to open the biggest possible distance between himself and the guard, so he could get a good vantage ahead when he was outside to take flight.

The red dragon purposely hit some piles of boxes and some big barrels that were in his way, which caused them to fall to the ground behind him, so the guards would stumble over them, as they tried to make their way across them.

The red dragon chuckled to himself, because he knew he was so close to the exit.

He finally made it to the nearest exit. He ran out of it, nearly bumping into other dragons as he went.

The market was a closed environment, made out by several small stores. All covered by one huge tent above the stores. It was to protect it from rain, but some also said it was to prevent dragons from flying away with goods. It was mostly used to discourage thieves, like this dragon. There were others who said; however, that the tent was to hide the identities of some dragons in there. For in the market, if you asked the right dragon, they could guide you to a secluded part of the market, in which you could buy some "interesting" items. Many dismissed it a simple speculation, or even as urban legends.

As soon as the red dragon got outside. He started flapping his wings, and soon propelled himself into the air with a strong jump. He started flapping his wings to gain more height, as he let out a small yell as he went to the sky. As he started to gain speed, he didn't bother to look behind, or to the sides He did not care if some dragons were going to find it strange that a young dragon cried out, as he took to the skies.

He had made it. That was all that mattered.

He panted as his adrenaline had been high, but now was returning to normal. He had made it successfully in the end, and now, he was easily going to lost the guard, even if they came after him.

"Stop!"

Speaking of the devil.

He could hear the shouts of the guards as they flew after him. The red dragon looked behind himself, seeing the bulky dragons fly after him. He smirked to himself, as he knew three things were in his advantage.

First: These armors they were wearing were heavy, and with the combined weight of themselves, who were also bulky and the armor. They were slowed down greatly. He was far lighter, which meant he could fly faster. This meant that he could easily open the distance between himself and them.

Second: He was far more daring than them. He was not afraid of making some dangerous maneuvers if he was actually wanting to escape, and he had no fear of improvising his flight pattern. The guards most of surely had followed an strict flying routine they learned. The guards usually lacked imagination.

Third, and most important of all: He was a thief, which means that he was not afraid of using some dirty tricks.

With these things on his mind, the red dragon smirked to himself, as he speed up his flight. He was leaving the bulky dragons behind him, because this was easy for him; however, he knew that he shouldn't get too cocky, for he knew that the guards had their own tricks up their sleeves. He knew there were more of them coming over from his sides, as they usually did to help to capture criminals.

True to his thinking, he soon heard more wings flapping, as other dragons were coming by his sides. The red dragon looked at to each side to see the dragons slowly closing their way to him. He gave them a smile, as he closed his wings, and let himself fall in direction of the ground.

Immediately the two dragons dived after him, as he dropped to the ground like a rock.

He kept his wings closed as the ground came closer and closer, each seconds more. The two guards kept up with his dive for a while; however, as the ground came closer, they started losing courage, until they finally lost it and dropped the pursuit.

It was exactly what the red dragon wanted. He opened his wings, and immediately corrected his movement, missing to his the ground by mere seconds. He now flew very close to the ground, and was recovering his altitude. He smirked when he heard the angry shouts of the dragon guards still coming after him.

He smirked as he flew next to the ground level, at the height of many of the houses. He swiftly dodged each house that was on his way, making daring maneuvers into the air to dodge them. In a moment, he came very close to two hoses that had just a small opening between them.

Any other dragon would think it would be impossible to pass by these houses flying, but not this red dragon.

Shifting his body, he put himself to fly vertically, and he was able to pass straight by this small space between the houses. A short cut that many would think crazy, or even irresponsible.

He came out in the other side, leaving the guards to find another way to follow him as he smirked to himself, and kept flying. As he did, he heard some shouting from above him.

"I got you now!"

He looked up to see another guard, this one diving in him from above, his front talons outstretched and ready to grab him. It was like a hawk diving after their prey, a fierce look in his eyes.

The red dragon looked at him for a few seconds as he came his direction. With his speed, and the gravity accelerating him; there were very few chances of dodging his strike.

It was time for a dirty trick.

Reaching for a small bag wrapped around his left ankle; he dipped his claw inside of it. He took out a small portion of black powder, and then pulverized it. He threw into the air above him, and it started to spread.

The dragon guard came from above, as he dipped inside the cloud of powder. It got into his eyes, which make them burn and tear up, and into his snout, making it itchy and making him wanting to sneeze.

That powder was pepper.

The dragon cried out in surprise, and immediately covered his face as he completely lost the move. He dropped past the red dragon, and was falling to the ground. He was going to collide with it at high speed, which would most surely cause him to break some bone, and maybe even his neck.

Many would let him dive to his death; many would simply let the poor guard die. It would be one less member of the guard to come after them and to bother them in the future.

But, this red dragon, was not like the rest of thieves.

He watched the guard fly into the cloud or pepper, and noticed that he was still moving towards the ground and towards certain death. The thief immediately dove after him. Swiftly reaching him; he gripped his tail, and tugged upwards as the forces of his body propelled himself upwards.

The guard yelped, as he feels his tail being tugged on. He immediately stopped in mid air, as the red dragon suspended him above the ground. The effects of the pepper that was shot in his face moments before was still affecting the guard.

The red dragon carried him by his tail for a few moments, before letting him go. The guard dropped to the ground, which made him land first on his face and then the rest of his body hit the ground. He was still sneezing, his eyes tearing up so that his vision was blurry, and he was rubbing his face to try to get rid of the effects of the black powder. He barely even noticed that he almost fell to his death, and who was the one that actually saved him from his demise. He barely noticed the red dragon, whom just let him go, and was now flying away as fast as his wings could propel him.

Soon the rest of the guard reached the young soldier, who was still sneezing when they came. The guard received some nice scolding for failing such an easy trick, but he really couldn't explain what had happened to him. Everything happened so fast to the guard. The others dispersed and started searching, trying to find any hints of where that petty thief had gone; however, they found nothing, and looked like they weren't going to find anything either.

* * *

The red dragon had flown fast and made several turns into corners and around constructions, to lode anyone who could have been following him. He knew that a lonely guard would probably never go where he was going.

He had just entered one of the poorest parts of the city. Normally known as Old Dragon Street; however, it was more commonly known as "Sliced Neck Street", due to the high crime rate.

It was the kind of place where sooner or later the criminals and thieves of the whole city came. If not to meet others like them, but to find someone who wanted to buy some of the items they had acquired by their "unconventional methods", or to hide until people stopped searching for them. The guards themselves only came there in teams, for they knew that it would be crazy to wander in there on your own.

The first reason was the criminals, and also a lot of people that lived in there had something against the law, or against the guards. There were thieves, rapists, drug dealers, and even assassins living there. All ready to jump onto a helpless and unsuspecting victim.

And second, because the place was almost a maze.

The way the streets were laid out, and the way the houses were put together right next to each other. Made it very hard to fly in there, and made a series of paths and crossroads. This caused anyone who was not from the place to have a lot of problems navigating, which would get them lost for hours before actually finding a way out, or even to find the right path in all of this mess.

Anyone would think twice before they would go into that place, especially when the sun was setting. No one would like to wander those streets alone at night. This was not the case for the red dragon however.

The red dragon landed in front of the entrance, and walked inside without any signs of fear. He almost seemed like a normal dragon, entering into a totally normal area, so he could do something usual, and not like a thief who just stole food form the market and barley escaped the guards.

It was because he lived in Sliced Neck Street. He's been there for quite a long time, and came to know most of the people who lived there. The place was his home, and it had been for a real long time. For being from around the area. He knew that the chances of him being targeted by some of the "residents" was slim, because they knew who the people he was related to.

It was just another day having come back from an incursion in the city. Like many others days.

He passed by an old and decadent looking inn, still carrying the bag over his shoulder. He was immediately called by someone, "Look at that! If it isn't Apollonir!" said a voice. The red dragon turned his head when he heard his name called. He looked at the bluish colored dragon, who was smiling at him. This dragon was a little bigger than him, and noticeably fatter. He had lighter blue for his underbelly and two pairs of white horns that came out of his head, blue colored eyes and flashy white teeth, and a sphere for his tailblade.

Apollonir, the red dragon smiled at the other dragon, and said "Tillian! Nice evening." Greeting the other dragon, who laughed hard at him "Very nice, indeed." Was his answer, as he looked at Apollonir's bag, and said with a knowing smile "coming back from some 'shopping'?"

Apollonir returned his smile and replied, "It was an undeniable offer."

This made the blue dragon laugh harder and said, "Hope you didn't have any problem."

"Almost," Apollonir answered, "There were some guys that wanted this more than I. But you know me, and I can make some good offers."

The blue dragon gave him a smirk. There. In Sliced Neck, everybody learned too soon that talking about a crime, or things like that could get you into serious trouble, and almost everyone there had committed at least one crime in their life. Many dragons knew how to talk about it without really talking about it. A technique, which had been horned into some sort of an art.

"Well, lets just hope that this doesn't bring any unwanted attention," Tillian, the blue dragon said, which made Apollonir chuckled to himself.

He replied with, "I'm careful, and you know that. By the way, how is business going for you?"

"Very good!" Tillian said, "Everybody needs to get drunk around here. I've sold a lot of drinks today and people also eat a lot. By the way, you got anything in there that might interest me?"

Apollonir smiled at him and then said, "Sorry, but I already have plans for all of this. Maybe I'll bring you something next time," As he continued on his way. Tillian waved him goodbye, and yelled at him to "be careful". However, by now, Apollonir had discovered long ago that being careful in this block was almost a requisite if you wanted to last more than a few minutes.

Apollonir walked pass the dirty streets, knowing each one of them for having lived here for so long. He passed by some old and decayed houses, and there was clearly trash out in the street. There were houses broken windows, and even some with broken doors, which made them seem like they have been abandoned for years. But Apollonir knew that there were people still living in them. They lived in these old houses, and not only dragons, but other species of creatures. Most of them were too poor to afford a real house, and forced to live in that place with a dubious neighborhood.

Apollonir knew well that this wasn't their best choice. He sighed as he remembered his past, and saw that nothing had changed since he was a hatchling. He had learned soon that he was going to have to struggle if he wanted to survive in the city. And he had done it since he could remember.

A voice behind him snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Well, well, what have we here?"

Apollonir stopped in his tracks, though every instinct was telling him to run. He closed his eyes, as he was praying for this not to be who he thought it was. However, whatever powers were up above, they did not hear him. For when he turned around, he saw exactly who he was afraid it was.

It was a bulky orange dragon, bigger than him. It had orange colored scales with cream underbelly and black running his back, and also black for his wings membrane. He had crimson colored malicious eyes and a smile as malicious as them on his face, which showed his teeth. There were six black horns on his head, and his tail blade was in the shape of an axe. This one was Gorgan. He was known for being one of the full time bullies of the block. The guy was not a dangerous criminal, but he was always getting into trouble, and always escaped. He was known pretty well around the block for always picking on the ones that were weaker than him.

Next to him was an even bulkier brown colored dragon, with scales that seemed more like armor, and lighter colored scales for his chest plates. He had two big curvy horns on his head, and yellow eyes and a spiked ball for his tail blade. He was Zorken, he was Gorgan's loyal minion and he was not very smart, but he was known for being one of the strongest guys around. Sure, there were a lot of guys that were far more dangerous than him, and yet he was feared by regular people. His only weakness was that he was as dumb as a doorknob.

On his other side was another dragon. This one smaller than Gorgan or Zorken, or even than Apollonir himself. This dragon had gray coloration for his body, with white for his underbelly and wing membrane. His head was devoid of horns, but he had a crest that projected backwards into his head, almost like an arrow, splashed with black and red. His eyes were purple colored, and his tailblade was a single arrow like appendage. This one was Ligon. He was one petty thief from around that stole people's houses or their bags when they were not looking. He was a coward, but he was also knew for being clever, and very good with numbers. He was the brains of the trio that was in front of Apollonir.

These guys were well known around the block, because they always took things from other poor dragons from the area. And they usually got violent if they were denied whatever they wanted, usually ending up with a few broken bones form the poor victims. They usually attacked poor dragons who were alone, and always victims who were weaker than them, and who couldn't fight back. They were more a nuisance than an actual danger, and they were big cowards.

Gorgan smirked at Apollonir, as he took one step ahead.

He said, "Well if it isn't Apoloco!" Apollonir knew very well that he was saying his name wrong on purpose, so he barely even bothered to correct him as he continued, "And hes got something with him! Let take a look."

Apollonir took one step back, and he held the bag he was carrying closer to his body. "Get lost, Gorgan." Apollonir said, "I need this and I worked hard to get it. I'm not giving it to you."

The dragons took one step ahead, as Ligon said, "You are denying something to boss? This is not smart." He was talking with a prepotency, as if his boss was the king himself. He had a sly smirk on his face as he looked at Apollonir, and especially at his bag. He was already imagining what would be in there for the red dragon to be so protective of it.

"You know who you are talking to?" asked Gorgan in a threatening tone. Apollonir's answer was, "And you know?" he said, "Do you know whom I am related to? Do you know who my friends are? I'm taking this to them, and I assure you, if they heard I have been robbed by some petty guys like you they will be angry at you."

Gorgan looked at him for a few seconds, and he laughed "Am I suppose to be scared?" he said, "I don't care if your uncle is the king himself! Here in MY street you are nothing!"

"Yeah, nothing!" said Zorken, with a strong voice and a dumb expression, as he agreed with his boss. Apollonir cursed under his breath, because usually being related to who he was related to was enough protection from most of the guys; however, there were still people in the block that were not afraid of his friends. It was because they were dangerous, or influential themselves. They could defy them on their own, because they were either too arrogant, dumb, or both. It didn't matter that they were getting into a serious trouble by messing with him. It was probably the later. It was obvious by the way that Gorgan was claiming that the street was his. He was too full of himself, and Apollnir was pretty sure that he didn't any idea of who Apollonir was talking about.

"Luckily for you, I'm in a good mood," Said Gorgan, "So, if you just hand over everything you have in that bag. We'll simply let you go." He offered a smirk like a snake ready to strike. Apollonir narrowed his eyes at him. He was surely not going to give what he gotten to him. He just simply couldn't.

Apollonir pretended he was pondering it over, as the trio looked at him impatiently. Apollonir looked at them, as then answered "I have another idea." This made the trio look at him as he continued, "What about instead I give you… THIS!" he said, reaching into the bag around his ankle and throwing a cloud of black pepper into them.

As an immediate result, they started sneezing and rubbing their eyes as the black powder made them ache and itch. Apollonir used this chance to turn around and run as fast as his four legs could carry him. And soon, he heard Gorgan's voice behind him, telling the others, "Get him!"

Apollonir didn't even bother looking behind him, as he went into the streets. He made several turns and spins in the maze-like streets. He could hear the three dragons going after him, but the streets were too close to each other to allow flying which made running the only option. And Apollonir already had a lot of practice in running.

He made several turns into crossroads and alleys, taking every street he could to lose the three jerks that were coming from behind him. He knew it wouldn't be that easy, since the three chasing him were from the area as well, which meant that they probably knew the streets almost as good as him. They would also know of the short cuts and the paths in the maze to go from one place to the other.

Apollonir knew that this was going to be tough, but he was ready for it. He was smarter than them, and he was going to use this to his advantage.

Apollonir took several turns into some key streets, to be sure he was going to lose them. His biggest worry was Zorken and Gorgan, since they were the strongest. Ligon was weaker than him, and he was sure he could take him easily in a fight. Apollonir only needed to lose them as fast as he could and he would be safe.

He made several turns, went by many crossroads as he was leading the three dragons behind him. He went up, down, left, right, and even made complete circles across the streets to get the three completely confused and lost, so he could leave them behind.

It was working for him, as he made his path Apollonir could hear them getting further and further back. He made a few more turns into some streets, and after he stopped hearing their voices. He knew that he had completely lost them.

After a while, Apollonir finally stopped. He was panting heavily from the run. Looking over his back, and listening carefully. He was making sure that they had not followed him.

Only the empty street Apollonir could see behind him, which made him sigh and smile to himself. He was able to lose them in the streets. These guys could be stronger in greater numbers, but they were still no match for him.

"Yeah, I guess those jerks will not bother me anymore." Apollonir said as he chuckled to himself and resumed walking.

Then suddenly something hit him hard in his side, which made him be thrown back a few feet, and collapse onto the ground breathing hard and clutching his side.

He raised his head slowly, and saw that it was Gorgan who had just rammed him. He was smiling down at Apollonir "So, we are jerks, huh?" he said as he walked slowly towards Apollonir, with a smile and a very arrogant pose.

Apollonir tried to get up, and winced as he felt a pain. He was pretty certain that he had broken at least one rib form the impact. He managed to get back to his feet and to walk backwards as Gorgan advanced towards him.

The crimson dragon chuckled as the smaller red dragon stammered back from him. "You thought you could really fool me that easy?" he said to Apollonir, as he advanced threateningly at him "Maybe those two, since they aren't that bright; however, I don't fall for stuff like that. I know these streets quite well."

Apollonir backed away, until he realized that he had been cornered into a dead-end. Gorgan chuckled at him, and said "I was going to go easy on you. You just needed to give me the bag and them you could have walked away without troubles. But now however, I'm going to take pleasure in beating the crap out of you, and then I'll take your bag."

Apollonir looked to all sides frantically, trying to see if there was an escape route. But all the sides were a dead end. Gorgan was blocking the only path that lead out. The houses where to close together upwards, which made flying away hard, if not impossible. Gorgan was stronger than him, so fighting him physically would be a stupid idea. He also had ran out of pepper, so he couldn't use that to escape either.

Apollonir knew that there was no other way for him to get out of here. Well not by normal means anyway; however, there was one thing that he might could do… but there was no way he could do it! He had to keep that a secret, he could not do it, not with someone seeing him!

"Look, I don't want problem," Apollonir said, "Look, I can give you half of the food I have here and you can let me go, how about that?"

"You should have thought of that sooner!" Gorgan said, giving one more threatening step towards Apollonir's direction.

"Now I'll just take it all and leave you here to bleed!" he said, with a cruel smirk.

Apollonir knew that he was not so dangerous, and he would most likely not kill him or hurt him seriously. He was going to take all the food away however, which was something that Apollonir could not let happen. He needed this food! He could not lose it!

"Back off!" Apollonir said, as Gorgan laughed at him "You are in no position to make any kind of threat! I suggest you to just protect your face and wait for me to be finished."

Apollonir looked at him with anger. He could not lose the food! He felt a strong sensation inside his chest, like a pression and a rapid raising in his temperature. He knew it was coming.

"Let me pass!" Apollonir cried out, and Gorgan laughed at him, and said "Say bye-bye to you teeth."

Apollonir finally could not take it anymore! He was going to do it! He could not lose the food this time!

"I… said…" as his mouth started having an orange glow "BACK OFF!" he roared, and as he did, the sound was not the only thing that came out of his jaws.

As he opened them, a stream of flames spread outwards coming from inside his maw, from the bottom of his throat. Orange colored flames spread out like a cloud in front of him as he roared.

Gorgan's arrogant and devious smile quickly melted into a face of pure shock and horror as he saw the flames jumping over him, and coming from Apollonir's mouth. He backed away and cried out as the flames slightly burned his scales. He stumbled backwards and laid flat on his back as he recovered. The flames had not seriously hurt him, but his scales where blackened form where the flames had touched them, and they would probably stay like that for a few days.

Gorgan looked at the red dragon, who was panting. His lips curled into a snarl as his fangs were showing, but the scariest thing about his mouth were not his fangs. It was the puffs of smoke and sparks which shot out each time he breathed. It was like there was a furnace inside of him, and it was letting the fire come out of his mouth.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-what the hell!?" he cried out as he shivered like a leaf in the wind, and Apollonir gave one step ahead, and roared "Leave me alone!" more flames jumping out of his mouth as he said that.

Gorgan, faced by that hellish vision screamed in pure horror as he hurried to get back to his feet and run as fast as he could; however, not before Apollonir shoot one last jet of flames right onto his backside. Making Gorgan cry out, as his tail was slightly burned, He ran away screaming like a mad dragon, and didn't even bother looking behind him.

Apollonir breathed a little more, and this time no fire was coming out of his mouth. Slowly his anger and fear dissipated, which left the bitter realization of what he had just done.

"Dammit!" he said in a low voice to himself, as he looked frantically to all sides. To any windows, doors, or to any place where someone could have hidden. He searched around for anyone who could have seen what he just did.

He didn't see anyone, which meant no witnesses to what he had done. This didn't make him clam down however. Apollonir then checked on his bag, to be sure that everything was still there. He then started walking his way back to where he was going in the first place, and he was really praying that no one had seen that.

He had just done what he had sworn to himself he would never do. He had just risked being discovered. He had used his ability, and he knew that if someone had seen him. He would be in serious trouble. He was just hoping that no one was going to believe Gorgan, even with his burned face and backside.

Apollonir knew that he should not be able to do what he just did. He had learned to do that on his own, and actually the first time he used it was by accident. He was trying some of that meditation that they taught him about. During the session, he was thinking about something that made him really angry, and when he exhaled he almost jumped out of his own scales when he saw fire coming out of his mouth.

He was scared at first, and he tried to reproduce it. Some days he was actually able to. At first when the fear was gone he thought it was the coolest thing ever, but the feeling soon disappeared when he heard about what they did with another poor dragon that discovered that could shot things from his mouth.

They had persecuted him as a sorcerer, and they executed him right on the spot. Apollonir didn't needed to think much to realize that it could happen to him as well, IF someone discovered that he could do what he just did. He would no longer be just some thief who was a nuisance to the royal guard, but he would be labeled as a sorcerer, and as a highly dangerous individual he would be hunted down like a monster.

He knew it was the truth, because he had heard enough stories around the city to know that they were not going to simply let him be if they ever discovered his "abilities". He knew that if someone found out, his life would be completely ruined.

He had sworn to himself that he would never do it again. Maybe if he simply ignored it, it would settle down and rest inside of him. Maybe it would end up disappearing, or just simply go away and he would never have to worry about it. For a time that seemed to be working, since it never happened again. He really thought it had disappeared once and for all.

Until now.

He had just done it, and it was not just a puff of flames like last time. This time it had been a curtain of flames, and it was able to burn a dragon. Well, the burns were not sever, and he would surely recover in a few days, but that was beside the point! He was able to actually represent a threat to someone, and his ability made it possible. If the guard ever believed the words from a dragon who lived in Sliced Neck Street… Apollonir shuttered as the thought of them breaking into each house, searching for a dragon sorcerer who can shoot fire from his mouth. In order to execute him right on the spot, as well as anyone protecting him.

He was absorb into his thoughts, so he almost didn't noticed that he had actually arrived where he wanted, until a voice called his attention back.

"Apo is here!"

Apollonir snapped back to reality as he saw one small cub dragon running in his direction. This one was a yellow colored with blue underbelly and two small stub horns on the top of his head, and a stub-like tailblade. His blue eyes shined with happiness from seeing the red dragon.

Apollonir smiled when he saw that young dragon running in his direction. He lowered his head, enough for the small dragon to climb onto his nose, as he said "Nimmo! Little guy!"

The small dragon Nimmo hugged his snout, and soon other young dragons were coming after him. They all were cubs, both males and females, and coming with them. There were two adults, both older than Apollonir. One was a male, indigo colored with light-grey underbelly and two long goat-like horns on his head and a spear-like tailblade.

Next to him was another one, a female. She was very slender and had blue colored eyes, she had a white colored body and grey colored underbelly, and she had long curved horns coming form the back of her head and a sword-like tailblade. They both were smiling, especially when they saw the bag that Apollonir was carrying.

"Hey there, young ones!" Apollonir said, "Guess what I brought here? Food!" he said, raising the bag he was carrying, all the kids cheered. Seeing the smiles forming on their small mouths was enough to make all the worries of Apollonir disappear. That was what gave him the strength to fight.

These kids were orphans, and they had no parents and no money to fend for themselves. In fact, many of them were really thin, and seemed not to eat decently. Apollonir had gotten all the food exactly to them, and seeing them happy now. Made it all totally worth, as well as it was going to be watching them eat.

Apollonir was part of a group which called themselves "Quick Shadows". They were well known for being criminals who did small tricks, like cheating, stealing, and making small robberies. For most of the city they were just petty thieves. What these high-class guys didn't know was that most of what they were able to get they used to help the community in Sliced Neck. They helped people who had less, or which were less fortunate, like these poor orphans. Though they officially did nothing, all the ones in Sliced Neck knew and respected them, for they were the ones which actually cared about the community and took care of it as a whole. There were some who disliked the Quick Shadows, but almost everyone in there respected them.

Soon, the food was distributed among the children, who ate happily what would be their first decent meal in days. Apollonir watched happily as they ate it all till the last bite, their happiness with the food being really contagious.

They couldn't eat that well always, and he knew that. That was the reason why Apollonir struggled so much about bringing the food back. That was why he had refused to give it to Gorgan and his idiotic friends, and that was why he had to take a desperate action.

He looked down as he remembered what he had to do, and all he had to risk by doing it. He had kept this a secret for a long time, and absolutely no one knew about it, not even his closest friends from the Quick Shadows. And now, there was the risk of the whole city knowing.

"Apo?"

One small voice called Appolonir back to reality, and he looked down, to see Nimmo looking at him, his small blue eyes looking at him. "Is something wrong?" the small cub asked. Apollonir looked at him for a while, and was able to open a smile and say, "Not at all." It was a big fat lie. "Just a lot to think about."

Nimmo looked at him "Are you going to be okay?"

Apollonir looked at him, and said "Yeah. I'm going to be okay." Trying to sound as assuring as he could. And now, as he saw the small dragon smiling at him, offering him one of the fruits he had himself brought to eat, he really hoped that what he was saying was not a lie…


	3. The Prisoner in the Darkness

The day was passing across the city of Grahar, and all the dragons were on their daily affairs. The dragons walked across the buildings and into each street, all of them busy with their own things.

However, some dragons could not simply come and go as they wanted. These dragons were into a big building that was into a more secluded part of the city. This place was an immense building, which was black colored and seemed made out of the most solid stone and of iron, which made the bars. This place was a prison; it was Hallaga, the prison of the city of Grahar. It was the only prison of the city, and it was the place where all the criminals were sent. It was a place with the worst conditions and, as if it was not bad enough, it was still open to visitation from the population. And some of the richest citizens came in there to watch over the criminals as if it was a zoo, and they usually spat and laughed at the prisoners.

It was the kind of place which no one would like to be sent to. Not only the food made the rats run away, and the water made you sick, but also, you couldn't have the most basic needs, and as if it was enough, the guards were true monsters disguised as dragons. Everyday some criminal would end up with a wound, with a bruise on the body or even with a broken bone or a few missing teeth. And, of course, the guards told them that it was a fight between the criminals, and of course, everybody believed them. After all, how would them believe into, the "honored" guard, or some petty criminals?

The inside of the place was almost like a maze, with stone walls and cells with bars made out of strong metal. It let a good view for each one of the cells, which was a cubicle in where the prisoners stayed. Sometimes there were three or four dragons, all had to squeezed themselves together into one single cell, since all of them had exactly the same size.

The corridors were long, and the cells were separated into even distances, and they were all the exact same size. Some of them had the advantage of having windows, which had bars on them, of course, but at least they allowed some fresh air and light to go in, while the rest of the cells were hot and usually dark. As it was the case of the cell of a particular dragon.

Into the hot, dark, and very uncomfortable cell, there was a single dragon standing into the darkness. He was a regular sized dragon, and he was all black colored, into his whole body, with exception of his underbelly, which was bone-white. His eyes were of a crimson color, and he had two big-goat-like horns into his head. His tailblade shaped like a scythe. His body was toned and a muscled. It had developed this musculature staying in that cursed place.

The black dragon had his back turned to the door of his cell, to the metal bars that were between him and his freedom. The same bars that kept him in that place for five long years. Five years. He knew it had been this the time. The exact, he did not knew, since the time seemed to slow down in there. But he knew it had been five years, for the guards had told him. But, for him, it had been more like fifty.

The black dragon let out a heavy sigh, as he knew that soon the visiting time would start, and he wanted to stay in the shadows and away from the door, to avoid these rich dragons to thrown things at him, and to taint him. They had done it almost every day since the first day he was into that cell. And sometimes, he wished he could just disappear into the shadows.

He stayed into the back of his cell, partially enveloped by the shadows, and he was hoping that this small camouflage was enough to make the visitants ignore him. He tried it almost every time, and almost every time, it failed, and he ended up target to jokes and to things, just like the rest of the prisoners in there.

"VISITORS COMING!" echoed a voice into the whole place, and, for a moment, the black dragon imagined that he could hear all the other prisoners groaning or whining, just like he was. The visiting time was the worst part for most dragons, since the adults came there to take a look into them, and to see them as if they were some freak show. Some of them even brought their young ones to there, and told them that they would end up like that of they ever did anything wrong. And it did not helped that some of the guards guiding them talked about each criminal, like, their name, and the crime that made them end up in there.

It somehow really felt like some real zoo, but with dragons instead of some other irrational animals. However, the black dragon doubted that the ones that came in there to visit really saw a difference. The guards themselves seemed not to see… actually, they saw, since it seemed that, in their eyes, animals deserved more respect than they did.

The black dragon knew that the only thing he could do now was sit into his cell and wait. He sighed as he waited in there, as he did almost every day, to entertain these dragons. Soon they would come for him, most of them always came. After all, he was arrested by some great crime, and it made sense that the dragons wanted to take a look into the dragon who did some horrid action. The guards seemed to believe that everybody would want to see him, since they seemed to almost guide them into his cell.

He could only wait.

* * *

 _He was waiting into the street. He looked to one side and the other as he was waiting for her, his crimson colored eyes were scanning the street after her as he laid on the street, his black colored scales lightly reflecting the color of the sun._

 _He sighed as he looked around, and he was starting to believe that she may had forgot. When he heard her voice._

 _"Exedra!"_

 _The black dragon turned his head when he heard his name being called. He saw one dragoness walking in his direction. She was lightly pink colored with golden colored horns on her head and with white underbelly and wing-membrane. Her golden eyes were focused on him and she was smiling as she waved at him with her claw._

 _The black dragon smiled, and he said "Marah!" and he raised up, and went to meet her. She smiled at him as he came closer, and she let him nuzzle with her in the neck. It was a regular way to compliment someone, as long as it not lasted too much, otherwise, it could be understood differently by who was seeing it._

 _They separated after a few seconds, and Exedra, the black dragon, looked at her as she smiled at him. "Marah! I'm so glad you came today!" he said, and she smiled at him as she answered "Why I would not come to meet my best friend?"_

 _He smiled, and he was thankful for his scales being jet black, since they could hide his blush. He was very honored that she considered him her best friend. In fact, he already believed it was a miracle that she was even friends with him. Marah was the only daughter of one rich and traditional family of dragons of Grahar. Her parents were influent in the city, and families like that used to be selective about the kind of friends they wished their children to have._

 _He, on the other paw, was just a regular dragon, and his family was quite poor and of little importance. They had to struggle to live in there, and, while they were not exactly poor, they also were far from being rich and influent, and they usually didn't fit into the standard of "good companies" that the richest wanted to have near their children._

 _Matter of fact, Marah's parents were totally against her being friends with a "individual" like Exedra, who they didn't knew and who could very well be a criminal. But Marah barely even cared. She was never like her parents, and she was more open minded than them. She had met Exedra years before when she was strolling around the city. She had got lost, and Exedra, the black dragon, offered her help to go back home, since he knew well the city._

 _The black dragon still remembered when he had found the pink dragoness in there, crying, and how she was happy when he offered his help to take her back home safely. And he was still remembering into the trouble he had got himself when he was found with her, and her parents accused him of having kidnapped their daughter._

 _It took a lot of argument to calm everyone down and convince them to let him go, but not before Marah's parents had told him to "never come near her again". Exedra was actually going to do it, but Marah seemed to have other plans._

 _She started sneaking out of her parents' house to go and talk to him. She spent time with him, and she even has met his family. They had become great friends ever since, and they spend time together whenever they could. And his family, of course, had become close to Marah, who was very dear to all of them._

 _She was an amazing dragoness to have around. And Exedra was possibly the dragon who most loved to have her around._

 _"So…" Marah said, lowering her voice to no more than a whisper "It has… happened again?"_

 _Exedra's smile disappeared, and he adopted a serious expression, and he started whispering too, as he looked to the sides to be sure that no one would overhear them "Twice this week." He said urgently "And I think it is getting worse."_

 _"But you can still control it, right?" she asked him, and Exedra nodded "Yeah, sure, but it is not going away!" he said, afraid that someone would suddenly jump over him and over her everything._

 _The thing they were talking about was something that had been happening with Exedra for a while. It was a thing that he kept in secret even from his family, and Marah was the only one who knew about it._

 _"I think my family is starting to suspect." Exedra said, sounding worried "What if I lose control of it?" he asked "What if everyone finds out? What will they do to me?"_

 _He looked down, and soon, he felt her hand on his chin, and lifted his head to see in her eyes "They will not." She said to him "We will find a way to solve this." She said, and she also said "My parents have a lot of books into our house." She said, and she reached out, and she handed him a key. "They will be out tonight for a show, and so, you can meet me in my home."_

 _Exedra was surprised as she was offering a key to her home to him. This was just showing off how much she did really trusted him. She said "We may take all night reading these books, but we will find something that might help you. We will figure out something. I promise." She said, offering her smile, which made his legs feel like butter._

 _He was able to smile at her, and his eyes did not left her face, as he reached out to grab the key, knowing that he should meet her in her house later on. And he was going in there._

 _Little did he knew that this would seal his fate._

* * *

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The suddenly banging into the bars of his cell called the black dragon back to the present, and he met one of the guards, looking at him with a sly grin, as he said "Get ready, trash bag." He said, almost as if he had physical pleasure from saying it "The visitors are about to arrive."

The only reason for this was for him to know that soon he was going to be nothing more than a thing for them to watch as some animal. The black dragon knew it perfectly, and they did not wanted him to hide and to try avoid the attention.

The dragon had gotten tired of it, and, to be completely honest, now he barely even cared.

He just sighed, as he stayed where he was, and waited for it. And, true to the guard's words, the visitors soon arrived there.

There were at least twelve dragons in there, all of them looking curious at the cells all around, and they were being led by some dragon in armor. He was wearing the armor of the Dragon Guard, and he was an imposing figure, big, muscled and with indigo colored scales, and light-blue underbelly and yellow streaks going down his sides. He had big and imposing horns on his head, and he had some noble and strong figure.

The black dragon knew him quite well. He was Garmagon, the chief of the prison guard, and he was the leader of all of the guards into the place. And he was, despite his noble and honored appearance, the greatest of all jerks in there. The black dragon knew perfectly this, for he had seen how the blue dragon acted when there were no visitants near.

Exedra had served as his personal punching back almost every day since he arrived into that prison, and he knew that it was not going to change anytime soon. He also knew that he was the main responsible for the orders of letting the prisoners not have a lot of food, and he knew also that he used most of the money that was supposed to be used for making reforms into the prison to his own things. Like some expensive jewelry for some women who he brought in there occasionally, to give a "close look" into the criminals.

Garmagon took personal pleasuring into seeing the prisoners sad and humiliated, and he made sure to be himself to inflict this to them. One of his favorite parts was to lead personally the excursions to see the visitants insult and spat into the criminals, on rare occasions, he could even see the criminals cry, and Exedra could swear that it were the moments that this sadistic dragon was happier.

But he was not going to give this satisfaction to him. Exedra was not going to cry and make that dragon happy, he already made his mind long ago. Still, he was sure that Garmagon was going to try.

And he was right, for Garmagon turned his head to him, to gesture to the visitors, and he said loudly "And here, we have one of our most dangerous and despicable criminals."

The eyes of the visitors turned to Exedra, who remained in the ground, his face devoid of any kind of emotion, as Garmagon continued "He was arrested five years ago, and he has been here ever since."

The visitors all looked at him, and they started mumbling among themselves as they looked at him, some were actually pointing, and some seemed to be making jokes, but Exedra barely minded. Garmagon seemed to notice this, and he said "And you know why he was arrested?"

The eyes of the visitors turned to the chief of the guard, and Exedra looked at him also. He already knew he was not going to let this chance pass. Garmagon gave a brief smirk at him, which only Exedra seemed to notice, and he adopted a serious expression for the visitors, and then, he said "He was arrested for the raid and murder of a poor young dragoness."

The visitors all gasped collectively, as their eyes turned to Exedra, who remained impassive as they all stared at him.

* * *

 _The night had already fallen, and it was the time that Marah had told him to go to her home for the meeting._

 _Exedra was flying low, being fast enough to arrive into the combined time, but he was going hidden, since he knew that a poor dragon like him into a place like that, at that time of the night, he was most likely going to have to give many explanations. However, the dragons in there would most likely take their own conclusions and not to hear a single word of what he was going to say._

 _Still, Exedra had to be in there, for he knew that Marah was waiting for him. He looked at the key that was on his hand. Marah had trusted him at the point of giving him the key to her home, and it was the proof that she trusted him completely. This made Exedra smile as he knew perfectly well how much of good friend Marah was._

 _She had been on his side, despite her parents forbidding it. She had come to his home and had spending her time with him without any kind of mistrusting and she was on his side any time he needed. She even kept his secret, and she was willing to help him to solve this while many others would have been scared and turned their backs to him._

 _Exedra was lucky for having met her, and he knew it, and cherished it every single day. He was so happy for having Marah into his life. She was the first and probably the only friend he ever had into his life, and he thanked to the elder gods every day for having met her._

 _He was lucky to have her as a friend, thought he had been wanting her to be more than just that._

 _It had been a while since Exedra had liked her that way, after all the time they had been together. After all, she was probably the first female dragoness, besides his mother and sisters, who ever become close of him._

 _She was the first one outside of his family who had been nice to him and had showed true interest into him, despite their giant social difference. She never indeed for him being poor, or being strange, she was always nice to him. In fact, Exedra was rather surprised when he realized he had fallen in love with her, but now, as he thought about it, it seemed a bit obvious that this could happen._

 _Exedra never tod her, thought, for he was afraid of being rejected. He already thought that it was a miracle she even being friends with him, if he said he loved her, how would she react? Would she laugh at him? Would she freak out? Would she tell him to go away and don't talk to her again?_

 _All these worries were what made him hold back for quite a long time. He always had been afraid of her rejection to tell her, be afraid of having his heart broken. That night, however, he had gathered the courage he needed._

 _Their meeting in the early morning, the show of trust she had showed him, and the kind smile on her fasce when she talked to him, this erased most of his fears and doubt. So, he decided that he was going to do it._

 _Be fore that night ended, he was going to tell Marah his true feelings._

 _There was still a chance of her rejecting him, and telling him that they could not work out. This fear was still plaguing Exedra's mind, but he was still moving on. At this point, he now barely even cared if he was going to be rejected. He'd rather tell her, and hear her say that they could never be anything more than friends, then to still keep it to himself, and forever regret not telling her without knowing if her answer would be "no" or "yes"._

 _It took a while for Exedra take his decision, and now, he was almost lat4e, ash he had to hurry a little to get in there in time. He had to arrive there, and he was going to tell her before that night would end._

 _He had to carefully land, and go around sneaking over the shadows, very much like a thief would do. For Exedra knew what people around that block would think if they saw a "poor" going around the place at night. Probably they would call the guard, and they would make him explain many things, and he probably was going to end up dragging poor Marah to problem with him. And that was the last thing he would ever want._

 _Exedra was able to sneak himself past the houses, until he was in front of Marah's house. Well, the house was from her parents, but yet, he was there, and it was a good place. It was big, and nicely colored, almost three stores high, with a big balcony in the hoof. Exedra always was impressed with a place like that. He already had visited it a few times, when Marah's parents were away, of course, they didn't wanted the "dirty rabble" to get inside their homes, for several different reason. But, as was said before, Marah did not though like her parents, it seemed that they never did her do it. She always received Exedra in her home gladly and with open arms._

 _Exedra quickly made a fly over the gates, and soon, he was in front of a big, ivory door, and he looked at the key that was on his paw. So, taking a deep breath, he erased the last that was left of his doubts, and he moved the key to fit it in the keyhole._

 _As he did, however, the door moved forward slightly, making some light noise. He hadn't made the move to unlock it yet. The door was already open_

 _"Huh?" Exedra said to himself, as he gently pushed the door, and it opened with a low screeching of the wood. They had left the door open? Marah's parents where the most careful dragons he had ever met, even if his meetings with them had been very brief and he had most listened them talking things about him and for him to "stay away from their daughter"._

 _Okay, they were into a rich district, with less crime incidence, and they trusted virtually everyone that lived in there. Yet, no one would simply let the door open like that, as if inviting someone to go inside._

 _For a moment Exedra imagined if Marah had left the door open for him, or if her parents may had forgot it open when they left to go to their compromise. How knew?_

 _Exedra pushed the door a bit more, opening, and he called "Marah?" and there was not answer, he peered his head inside as he said "I think someone forgot to close the do-"_

 _He never finished that sentence, for his voice trailed when he looked inside the house. The place had been destroyed in the inside. The furniture was scattered around and some pictures had been taking down the wall and now laid in the floor, their glasses shattered. And also, some of the nearby furniture was open, and there was a lot of things out into the ground, as if they had been discharged in a hurry._

What is that!? _Exedra thought._ The house has been robbed?

 _The black dragon looked around, as he saw that the house seemed to have been turned upside down. However, most of the valuable stuff in there, like some sculptures, some valuable art, and even some golden coins and some gems, had been left in there, and some of it was actually broken down and scattered around._

 _Exedra walked inside, opening the door and letting it open behind himself. He looked around as he saw the place that was nearly destroyed, with shards of vases and windows scattered around. This did not looked like a normal robbery. It even seemed that they were after something in particular, and ignored all the rest._

 _Or was that, or it had been a fight in there…_

 _Exedra's thoughts suddenly came into a halt as he remembered Marah._

 _She was in the house! She was there waiting for him! And she was there when they entered!_

 _By the elder Gods!_

 _What if they had found her!?_

 _What if they had hurt her!?_

 _Exedra was not going to forgive them if they did!_

 _"Marah!" Exedra called for her as he entered the house, looking around, trying to find any sign of her "Marah! Are you there? Marah!"_

 _He kept calling as he walked across the house, and only them, he thought that maybe the burglars, whoever were they, could still be into the house. But, on second thoughts, if Marah was with them, he barely even cared._

 _"Marah!" he called again, walking around, and looking into the corners, trying to find her, to see if she was near or hidden into a closed. Exedra even looked up the stairs and called her again, to see if she would respond._

 _He got not a single answer, nor from whoever invaded the house, what he was thankful for, nor from Marah, what made him really worried. He looked around, and he was about to go up the stairs, to see if there was anyone in the seconds floor, when he heard something._

 _"Exedra…"_

 _The black dragon perked his head, and looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. It was barely louder than a whisper, but Exedra was completely sure that he had heard it. It was voice, a voice that was calling his name._

 _"Exedra…"_

 _There it was again, and the black dragon heard it carefully. This voice was familiar._

 _"Exedra… help me…"_

 _Exedra's eyes widened when it finally hit him. It was Marah's voice!_

 _"Marah!" he called as he looked around to all sides, he dashed across the room as he looked in every place he had looked before to see if he had missed her from sight. "Marah! Where are you!?"_

 _There was an answer again, after a few moments "I'm… here…" she sounded weak, she sounded hurt. That was more than enough to drive the black dragon crazy._

 _"Marah! Keep talking!" he said as he started following her voice, looking around. Marah continued calling him, and Exedra was finally able to track the voice back into the kitchen. And the black dragon finally entered in it, almost skating in the ground, such was his rush._

 _The kitchen was a beautiful place of the house, it had some fine wood for making the equipment, and some high quality metal which made the knives and forks that were hung into a nearby place. The floor and the walls were worked with some fine porcelain bricks, all decorated with golden lining, and all with stamps of golden flowers. This was just another shown of how much Marah's parents were rich, for decorating luxurious that kitchen. Exedra remembered the times he spend there, just admiring these beautiful bricks as he and Marah had lunch or some snack while her parents were away._

 _But now, food or the beauty of the bricks was the last thing on his mind. For there was something on the floor that called his attention far more than the decorating of the place could ever do._

 _Marah was there._

 _She was laying in the ground, sprawled over it on her side. Her body was covered in brushes and wounds, and even some claw marks over her body, leaking blood. There was pain on her face, and her eye was blackened and there was a missing tooth on her wounded face. Her wing was twisted in a way that it made clear that it had been broken into at least two different places. She was breathing heavily and loudly as her chest slowly went up and down._

 _"MARAH!" Exedra cried out so loud that he thought that someone outside, into the street, would ´probably be able to hear him. All rational thought and all other kinds of though leaved his mind, replaced by the pure and absolute horror of seeing her into such a situation. He immediately rushed to her side, and checked on the wounds form close, and it made them seem even worse, and there was a small puddle of blood formed around her head. Her eyes were out of focus, but they regained a little of it as they focused onto him._

 _"No. No. No, no ,no, no!"_ _Exedra said as he looked at Marah through all possible angles, but no one of them made the wounds seem less serious. Marah looked at him, as she spoke weakly, her voice pained, as if even talking hurt "E-Exedra…"_

 _Exedra was panting from pure nervousness, he raised his head, and he screamed "Help!" he called out for anyone that could possibly hear it, and come to help "There is someone hurt in here! Help!"_

 _His attention went back to Marah, who was also panting softly, looking at him as he used his paw to help support her head. Her eyes fixed on im, as she spoke "Exedra… my… wing…"_

 _Exedra cast one more look into the broken wing. He had to hold himself not to lose control completely, even though he was pretty sure he was failing. "Y-y-your wing…" he said, looking at her and away form her wing "I-it is not that bad." He said, and she looked in his eyes, and she smiled weakly, as she spoke "You… are… a terrible… liar…"_

 _Exedra knew he was. Marah always knew when he was lying, and she almost always reacted by smiling at him. Her smile could calm him down in almost any case, but this was not one of them._

 _Marah was seriously wounded in the ground, and she was having troubles even to breathe. That was not a moment in that he could calm down with her smiles. He was scared, more than he had ever been on his life, for he thought seriously that he could lose her. He kept trying to put these thoughts aside, trying to convince himself that she was going to be okay and that the wounds were not that serious._

 _But a single look into them was enough to make him see that they_ were _serious, and that Marah was suffering from them very much. Even though she was able to smile at him._

 _"Someone help!" Exedra cried again, hoping that anyone would hear and would come to aid, or would at least go call for someone else's help. He turned back to Marah, who was still breathing heavily and wincing every now and then from the pain._

 _"Marah. Marah, talk to me." He said, gently cleaning a strand of blood from her face with his claw, and he saw a gash in her head that seemed quite serious "Marah…" he said, his voice shaken "I-its okay… You are going to be okay." He said, still shaken, and Marah could notice that he was saying it more to himself than to her. She smiled at him._

 _"I'm glad you came." She was able to mutter at him, her voice weak. Exedra looked at her, and he said "Oh, Marah, I'm so sorry! I should have come earlier!" he said, now imagining that if he had appeared earlier than he could have prevented it. She was in such a terrible shape! Who did it to her? How would ever be able to hurt her like that?_

 _"Marah." He said "What happened?"_

 _The whide dragoness' eyes focused on him and she started saying to him "I… heard someone… going in…" she said, her breath still difficult._

 _"They broke inside?" Exedra asked, but Marah said "No…" she looked at him "They… didn't… broke the door… they… had… a key…"_

 _Exedra's eyes widened. Someone who had the key? How? It was someone she knew? Someone her parents knew?_

 _Her voice called him back, and she continued "I… thought… it was… you…"_

 _Exedra suddenly was hit by a thought. What if she thought he had given them the key!? She thought he was responsible! No, no, no!_

 _"Marah!" he said "I kept your key with me all times! I didn't even told my parents about it! I swear!" he said, to the verge of tears, and she smiled at him, and she said "I know…" she said calmly "I know… you did… not… you… would never… do… this…" this made Exedra's heart go slower, and she continued "I… knew them… my parents… gave… the key… for… emergencies…"_

 _She coudhed a little, and Exedra's heart sunk when he saw that she was coughing up blood, and she said "He… was… so… strong… the one… who… did… this… to me…"_

 _"Marah, Marah, don't talk now." He said, trying to make her save strength, and he looked around one last time, crying out "SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE!" but once again, there was not a single answer, no one was coming. He was breathing fast as he looked at her. "Marah, I'm going to find help!" he said, turning his head, and he was about to get up, when Marah said "No…"_

 _He looked back at her, confused, and she said "Stay… stay… with… me… please…" she said, and Exedra could do nothing but comply. He knelt back to her side, and he used his claw to rest her head, and he said "Marah, is okay, is going to be okay."_

 _Marah smiled at him, as she said "I… had… a good life." These words made Exedra's heart sunk, and so did the next "I… lived… fully…"_

 _"Marah…" he said, barely holding back his tears "Please, stop talking like that." He practically begged, but she continued "I'm… very… happy… that I… found… a friend… like you…" she said, and Exedra came next to her "You… have… been… the best… friend… I could… ask for…"_

 _"Marah… no." he said, now the first tears rooling down his features, and she continued "Thank you…" she smiled at him "Thank you… for… being… my… friend…" she slowly started closing her eyes, looking at him with a smile on her face "Thank you… and… goodbye…"_

 _Before Exedra could say anything else, she gently closed her eyes, and then, her breathing stopped. Her chest stopped moving. Exedra just stood there, next to her, his eyes widened._

 _No._

 _This couldn't be true._

 _This couldn't be happening._

 _No…_

 _"Marah…" Exedra breathed, his voice shaken, and tears flowing form his eyes. "Marah…" he said, nudging her gently "Marah… no… please… no." he said, watching to her now lifeless form. She was smiling, she seemed so calm, so peaceful, but this did not diminished Exedra's pain._

 _He breathed heavily, and let out a cry, maybe louder than any other of his previous screams for help. He dropped to the ground, near Marah, almost cuddling with her, his face very near her, he was sobbing and the tears were flowing freely over his face. The pain was too much. He could barely contain it. His chest hurt so much._

 _"Marah…" he said between sobs, and he was able to say the words he wished he was able to say to her before it was too late "I love you." And he just kept there, next to her, sobbing._

* * *

A single tear went down Exedra's features as the memory came at him. Marah's dying in front of him was the most terrible thing on his life. Seeing her die in front of him, without being able to do anything to save her, or even to ease her pain. It had destroyed him, his chest hurt so much that he felt like he wanted to rip it out. There was no end to all the suffering he felt. And he was still feeling. This kind of pain never goes away, but he had learned to live with it.

He spent a long time next to her, crying, until he could not cry anymore. He didn't knew how long he stayed by her side, but he knew that it had been a long time, for at some point, her parents arrived home.

Exedra could still remember the scream from her mother, and the angry growl from her father when he pushed him away from her, almost ripping out his wing in the process. He remembered their tears, and the hate on their eyes when they looked at him, as well as the shock he felt when he realized that they thought that he was the one who had did that.

He even tried to explain, but they gave him little to no attention. Soon, all the street knew that he had broken in the house, and that he had killed the poor dragoness. Soon after that, he was being taken dragged by the Guard, and he could only watch helplessly as everybody stared to him as he was pushed inside that cage, and soon was being carried to prison.

And there he had stayed in the last five years, being exposed as an animal, being blamed by something he didn't do, being spat almost everyday, and serving as the guards punching bag almost every night.

But, that was not the worst part.

The worst was that, for arresting him, they didn't bothered searching for more suspects. What meant that the real culprits were still out there. The ones who were true responsible for Marah's death had escaped, and they were still out there.

They were someone who had the key, her parents gave it to them, so they were someone in which they trusted, someone who they knew, someone from their own circle. They had entered the house and they found Marah, and she knew them, and they had attacked her, and left her there to die.

They were still out there, they were still free, and that was the worst part of him having been arrested for _their_ crime.

"And that is how we believe that he killed the poor young dragoness." Garmagon's voice finally made him snap form his thoughts. He looked up in time to see the crowd mumbling to themselves, and looking at him, some with fear, some with anger, and some with disgust. He simply curled his lip, and he looked back at the ground. He knew that it was the best way to get through it, simply ignore and sit obediently and wait for them to go away.

"Sir, how did he got inside?" asked someone from the crowd, an adult that was rather close to the bars of his cell "You said that the entrance hadn't been forced."

"He got a key." Was Gramagon's answer, and this surprised the crowd "We believe that he had been plaining this raid for a long time." Explained the chief of the guard "We believe that he got close to the young dragoness, and gained her trust enough for her to give him a key to her house."

The crowd once again mumbled, and the captain continued "This only prove how much this individual is clever and deceithful."

Exedra ignored it, he had learned to ignore, and just to sit there like a good prisoner. But the next thing he heard was something that he could not ignore.

"Or it proves that this dragoness was stupid."

Exedra's eyes widened when he heard that, it was the same dragon outside his cell. He was smiling as he said "I mean, giving your key to a guy like that? Bah, you have to be stupid, ignorant, and brainless to it."

Exedra's claws curled and scrapped the ground when he heard it. And the guy only continued "With due respect to the dead, but this dragoness was surely not very smart. Anyone with just half a brain would be smart enough to know not to-"

He never finished this phrase, fro before he could, a black scaled paw with white claws grabbed his throat, making him gasp, and pulled him against the bars of the cell. In there, the previous smile and arrogance of that dragon were replaced by pure fear when he was met by the prisoner, roaring at him, making sure that he saw every single teeth of his mouth.

Exedra had just heard enough! They could say whatever they wanted about him, but this guy had just dared to talk about Marah! And this was what it took to send Exedra over the line. He roared at the poor dragon while holding him with his claws, while he struggled to get free and cried for help.

The crowd all cried out and backed away as they watched in terror, and Captain Garmagon was the first to step aside, and he grabbed Exedra's paw, and squeezed it until his own claws dug on it, and only them, Exedra finally let go of that jerk.

The dragon yelped and scrambled away, shaking like a leaf in the wind, while Exedra retreated his paw back to his cell.

It took a while for Garmagon to calm everyone down, and then, he convinced them, to keep on going with their "tour", though some wanted to simply go away, once they saw that it could be dangerous. As they walked off, Exedra had a feeling they would keep far from the cells from now on.

Garmagon stayed behind, and he spoke to Exedra into the angrier tone he was able to make "What was this idea?" he said, and Exedra simply looked bankly at him. The balck dragon had lost his fear from him a long time again, due to having been prisoner for too long. Garmagon scorned, and said "I should go in there and teach you how to behave. But I have some guests to entertain now." He said, and soon he added with a smirk "But, don't worry. Soon the visiting time will end, and I'll come so we can talk I peace. After all you are not going anywhere. No one ever escaped _my_ prison." And he went away chuckling, back to the visitants who waited him.

When he was out of sight and from hearing, Exedra turned around, and he let out the strong breath he was holding, and it came out as a puff of black flames. Exedra was barely even minding for the black flames, for it had already happened years ago.

Exedra could still remember perfectly well the first time it happened, and he remembered how scared he was. He kept this as a secret form everyone, including his own family, and the only one who knew about it was Marah. She was the only one that, instead of being scared and wanting to be away from him, actually offered to help him with it. She kept his secret, and she took it to her grave.

And that stupid jerk dared to talk about her like that!

Exedra snarled as he slammed his claw against the bars. He was barely minding that later Garmagon was going to come to "talk" to him, even knowing that by "talking" he meant that he would beat him up more than usual. He was used to it, so now he barely even minded.

He had to take several deep breaths to be able to calm himself, and to collect his thoughts, as he flexed his claw against the bars. As he did it, he soon realized one thing. He looked at the bars. The bars had a distance among each other of only a few inches, and they were thick, in order to imprison dragons on the other side.

Exedra had just realized that the bars were too close to each other, and his paw could not squeeze over it. How did he made his paw pass to grab that dragon's neck?

Exedra looked at the bars, and at his own paw and leg, and he saw that it was indeed to big to pass through the bars, but few moments ago, he had done it, and it was rather easy. Almost as if the bars were not there.

Exedra looked at his paw for minutes, wondering how this was even possible. He wasn't sure how he did it, he was too busy thinking about that stupid guy that dared to talk about Marah. Only thinking about it made his hot boil. And as he did, something happened to his paw, it seemed to be enveloped into black fog, very similar to his black flames.

Exedra blinked, as he saw the fog forming, and quickly, it dissipated, leaving his paw back to normal.

Well, by what it seemed, it was some kind of extension from his "dark powers".

Exedra had been ´practicing with them for a while. This was one of the few things he could do in the jail. But he always made sure to make it away from anyone's eyes, only when he was sure that no one was looking. Usually he could only do it late at night, when there was no one looking at him.

Exedra had even learned how to trigger it, and even control lightly, by focusing his black flames. But, this?

Enveloping his paw in darkness was something completely new to him. He barely knew how to control it, but he seemed to be able to channel it the same way the black fire: through negative emotions.

He focused a little, thinking about the time he was arrested, and the looks that everyone gave him that night, and all the grief and sorrow he felt. Soon, his claw was once again enveloped in black mist. Exedra looked at it for a few moments, and then, he looked to the bars, and then, he approached his paw over it.

Then, to his surprise, the black mist passed through the bars, and it revealed his claw, on the other side.

His eyes widened, as he stared as his claw on the other side.

He gently flexed each claw, and he felt each one of them perfectly and without any kind of problem. He pulled his leg back, and his paw came back as black mist, before it dissipated and revealed his claw still attached to his leg, perfect in place as if nothing had happened.

Exedra let out a breath, as he stared at his leg. Wow, this was much more than just puffign black flames. He could pass his claw by the bars as if they were not..

His thought trailed, as one new thought filled his mind. Exedra seemed to froze in time as the thought was analyzed by his head by all possible angles and lights.

Could he…

Could he do it?

Exedra looked at the bars again, but he was not looking at the bars, he was looking to the other side, to the outside of his cell.

Exedra looked at it in a way he had never looked in a long time, a way he had given up looking a long time ago. He had passed so much time inside that small cell, he had almost forgotten what used to feel like being in the outside.

Begin free.

Exedra looked at his paw, and then, focusing, he made it go misty again. He looked over the cell bars one more time, before looking back at his paw, and then, focusing more, more sorrow and anger, he saw the mistiness spreading to his whole leg, till his shoulder. Breathing heavily, Exedra closed his eyes, and focused all the anger, sorrow and grief that he had cumulated during his five years in that hell he was in.

Then, Exedra's whole body seemed to become a cloud of black mist.

Exedra was still able to think, though, and so, the mist slowly floated, closing the distance to the bars, and then, passing lightly through them, as any cloud would be able to. And then, when it all passed, the black mist started dissipating, and , inside of it, was Exedra.

He widened his eyes and let out a huge and gasping breath, as he looked to the ground, shaken and panting.

He took one whole minute to realize that it had just happened. He looked back at the bars, and he saw, on the other side, his cell, so small and with minimal privacy. He was now on the other side. He was out of it.

He panted a few more, as he looked around, and, seeing no guard around, he started walking, his claws gently tapping into the floor.

Exedra walked, as he called the attention of a few other prisoners, who started looking at him. Exedra's walking became a pacing, and is pacing, soon turned into a race, as soon the prisoners were looking at him, and they started getting agitated as they realized what had happened. It was a thing that never had happened before, in the whole story of that prison.

A prisoner had escaped his cell.

Exedra was panting from pure nervousness as he ran through the hallways, trying to find a door that would lead him to the exit. The prisoners around him making an uproar as they realized that someone had just escaped, and that it now trying to find a way out. Exedra paid them no attention, his only thought was to get out, to escape.

On his way, one guard appeared, and his eyes widened when he looked at Exedra, recognizing him. Exedra had also recognized him, as one of the guards that liked to spank him at night, but he paid little attention, he ran past the guard, making him slam into the wall, and walking past him, barely minding that now a guard was screaming, telling that a prisoner had escaped.

The other guards would soon be after him, and Exedra knew it. He had to get out before it, he had to escape that place before they found him and put him back. He was barely thinking into something else as he ran through the hallways, hearing more uproar, not only from the prisoners, but also from he guards, that soon were taking recognition that he had escaped and were now going after him.

Exedra panted as he did so much turns that he was afraid of having got lost. When suddenly, after a turn, he found himself in a dead end. He could hear the shouts of the guards, coming after him.

For a moment, he panicked. It seemed that all the effort he had till now would have been for nothing. They would drag back to his cell, but only after they had beaten him until he told them exactly how he had managed to escape.

Exedra panted as he paced back and forth, and then, a light shone above him. He looked up, and, at a few feet above the ground, there was a light. It was the last light of the day, as the sun was setting.

Exedra looked at that small window which allowed the light to pass by. It was too little for an adult dragon to pass by. But, Exedra was not like the other dragons.

Looking over his shoulder, at the voices of the guards who were coming closer and closer by each seconds, and then, looking back at the window, Exedra made his decision. He closed his eyes, and started focusing, now going back at the day he found Marah on the floor. The day in which she died in front of him without him being able to save her.

His heart was instantly filled with sorrow, and then, he was enveloped by black mist. Soon, this cloud of mist floated, and soon, it passed by the small window easily, as smoke would, and them, once it was all out, the fog dissipated, and it revealed Exedra. The black dragon immediately had to start flapping his wings to prevent from falling.

He was a bit weak, for the last five years into a cell without begin able to go out had rendered his flying abilities to go a bit rusted. However, the thought of escaping, and going to far, was able to motivate him, and make him do an extra effort to raise himself, and start flapping hiks wings, and moving.

Exedra could still hear their screams and shouts as they were after him. However, it didn't mattered.

He breathed the fresh air, and spread his wings as he took flight, and moved away from that hellhole they called prison, leaving it behind, along with everything he had suffered in that place.

Exedra was free.


	4. The Dreadful Duo

The day was almost finishing, and the sun was setting. The sky was bright with just a few clouds around, being painted in tones of orange and red, with some pink colored glow on the few clouds around.

The citizens of the dragon city were still walking to and for, though most of them had already went back home. Still, there were a few dragons around, all of them walking around, and going to several places and taking care of their own business and minding their own lives. Some of them walked form one place to another, others in direction to their homes, and some were spending time in some places, like the bar called "Drunken Wyrm".

This bar was well known for offering the strongest alcoholic drinks around, and some of them were either faked or illegal, or even both. There were some of them were so strong that a single sip was enough to make someone starting to stumble as tried to walk and to say things that would normally not dare to say.

This bar was known for being some nice place for meeting, and it was known for being visited by some "dubious customers", which came there for several reasons. They said the place was some important point for some illegal things, but there was not an actual proof of it, otherwise, the Dragon Guard would already have shut down the place. Yet, even without proofs, the meetings that happened in there were well known for whoever had a good connection or knowledge of the underworld of the city.

The place was a good place for almost anyone, though; most of the customers were just some dragons who were after a good drink, and wished a few moments to get distracted from their daily troubles, or a place where they knew they could relax without worrying about getting into troubles.

At the present moment, the bar was half empty, and there were some dragons in there. There are three dragons in there, involved into a drinking game, all of them laughing hard. There was another group of dragons into another table, and they seemed to be very secretive as they cornered in there, as to avoid been seen by anyone. There was some sound of sniffing as someone with good eyes could see that they were spreading some lines of some strange powder over the table before dipping their heads in it and sniffing deeply, and soon before, they gave sighs, and some of them moaned softly.

These dragons were clearly some drug users, and they were avoided by the rest of the people, since they knew that they could be very violent and that they usually didn't cared about laws or about the consequences of their actions. But, these dragons were not the focus of our attention.

The focus was on the balcony, nearing it, as they both sipped into their respective drinks.

They were both dragons, and both of them were wearing some very long and thick cloaks covering their bodies, from head to tail and long enough to hide till their paws. One of them was wearing a forest-green colored cloak, and two long wings with indigo blue membrane came out of its back, and a tail coming out of under the cloak with one tailblade which looked didn't needed to much imagination to be seen like a scorpion's stinger. A strong and midnight blue muzzle came out of his hood, which covered his head, horns and the shadows obscured his face.

By his side, was another dragoness, this one with a more vivid choice of colors, as her cloak was red-violet in color, and it covered the whole body, which was a bit smaller than the other dragon. The wings, unlike the friend, were hidden beneath the cloak, and the tail which came out of the back of it was long, and it had no tail blade. A slender muzzle came out of the cloak, and it was crimson colored.

These two dragons drank from their cups, which were made out of wood, and thus, hidden the content from view from the outside. The dragon of the forest-green coat, which was large, and clearly bigger than his companion, took large gulps of whatever was inside of his cup, while the smaller one, by his side, was taking small sips of her own cup. They both looked like they were only casual, and they didn't seemed to be there to do anything other than drinking.

And that was exactly what they wanted everyone to think.

The two dragons took drinks, and the bigger one slammed his cup twice in the balcony, as he said "Another round, Leeran! And don't spare drink this time!"

Soon came the bartender, who was also the owner of the bar. He was a middle-aged dragon, named Leeran. He was orange colored with two long horns, well, one of them was long, as the other had been broken years ago and now was only the stub in place. He had long wings with red membrane and spikes running his back, and a tailblade shaped like an arrow. His eyes were deep green.

He walked up, and he asked "Do you want a bigger cup also?" he said, sounding angry for being talked like that. The hooded dragon only answered "Only if you fill it to the brim with your better bourbon!"

Leeran snorted, and he picked up the plate, walking away. A few moments, later, he came back, and he place a bigger cup than the last over the table, and walked away, saying "I hope you choke on it!"

The hooded dragon looked at Leeran as he walked off. Anyone who had seen it would think they didn't liked each other one bit. It was better that way, so Leeran would stay out of problems. The hooded dragon looked at his cup, and he could see a small piece of paper peeking out of the cup.

 _Thank you again, Leeran._ The dragon thought as he gently pushed the paper from under the cup, where the bartender, who was also their intermediator, had placed it.

Leeran was a good old friend, and he often acted as a mediator between them and their clients. Of course, in their line of work, you had to be subtle into these kinds of things, and Leeran was. Anyhow, they had to put up this show, in order to avoid suspicions and to keep Leeran and his family safe.

The hooded dragon took out the paper, and he unfolded it over his claw, making sure that no one was saying. The paper was an old piece of scroll, and in it, there was one thing written.

 ** _Dorian Starwing, male, 48 years old_**

 ** _Natural death_**

And along, there was the address and a brief description of the said dragon. The hooded dragon read it quickly, and he passed the paper subtly to the dragoness, whom was on his side. She also read it in less than five seconds, and then, she placed the scroll on her mouth and swallowed it.

They both resumed drinking, and after a while, they both had already finished, and they already got up to leave. As they did, one of the other dragons who was in place, one bulky brown colored dragon, who was drunk, stumbled over them, and he fixated his eyes into the hooded dragoness.

"My, my! By the gods!" he said, as he stumbled in her direction "What have we here? What a cutie like you are you doing hiding your beautiful body?"

The dragoness stopped on her tracks, and she slowly turned her head to the drunk dragon "Sorry, are you speaking to me?" she asked in a sweet tone. Sweet as venom.

"You are the only cute thing in here." Said the drunken dragon, nearing her, and with a drunk smile in his face.

"I'm here with my husband." She said, and the hooded dragon looked at the guy. The brown dragon looked at the hooded dragon, and he scowled "Oh, never mind him." He said "Come with me, I can make you forget about him in a few seconds." He said, and he reached out to try touch her with his paw.

However, as soon as he tried, he let out a pained cry as the dragoness had grabbed his paw and twisted it painfully. She made a quick turn, and she spun him around, throwing him away, and making him land into a table, crushing it under himself and startling the ones who were into it.

There was a small commotion as everyone turned their heads to look. The brown dragon stumbled over the crushed table under him as he tried to get up. "You bitch!" he said, trying to get up "I'm going to-" he started, but he trailed on his voice, as he looked over, and he saw the hooded dragoness over him. Her hood was still covering her face into shadows, but he could see two red, glowing orbs, which were her eyes.

In the moment he catch sigh of these orbs, he felt like his guts had turned into ice. He felt a cold and unnerving fear spreading into his insides, and freezing the blood on his veins and even the inside of his bones. He could only stared helplessly into these red orbs, unable to move, unable even to blink. He was petrified from pure fear.

"Listen here, you piece of trash." She said, each of her words sounding like a threat to his very soul "If you ever talk to me like that again, or try to touch me, or even look at me the wrong way again, I'm going to made you regret the day that you left your egg. Got it?"

The brown dragon stared at her, his eyes widened in fear, unable to say or do anything. The only sound that came as an answer was a hissing sound like water. The dragon had just lost control of his bladder.

The hooded dragoness eyed him "I'll take that as a yes." She said, and simply turned and walked away, leaving the poor dragon still paralyzed from terror. The dragon with the hood, her husband, was still waiting for her. They both nuzzled, and so, they started making their way to out of the bar, no one else daring to do anything to them.

Once they were out, the hooded dragon said, "That was unnecessary." As he looked at her, and she chuckled "Like you didn't wanted to do anything to him when he started hitting on me." She said smiling "I think you should defend me a little more."

"I didn't knew you needed to be defended." Said the hooded dragon, with a smile, and she chuckled at him "You are far too calm for my taste." She said, and he answered back "In our line of work, being able to keep calm in any situation is a good advantage."

She chuckled at him, and she neared him as both walked, almost nuzzling him as they were very close together. "So, the poor unfortunate dragon is called Dorian Starwing, huh?" she said, and the dragon nodded "Must be from some rich family, the name seems noble." He answered, "I think we will have to prepare for this job."

And so, they both walked forward, leaving the bar behind, and at all the time, being completely sure that they were not being followed by anyone. In their line of work, they had to be very careful, for each moment could appear a new danger as they were both into a rather dangerous and delicate kind of work.

They were going to need a while to get ready to get the job done. They had to get what they needed, to analyze the situation carefully, and to be ready to any kind of problem that could appear in the way. Also, they had to think carefully into which way to do the job just as it had been requested by their sponsors.

Yeah, the life of a killer for rent was not easy.

* * *

For the next days, these two dragons stablished a strict routine, based on their new target.

As the dragoness had suspected, the dragon really was from a noble family, and he was rich. He was a green colored dragon with yellow underbelly, long brown colored horns on his head, indigo colored wing-membrane and yellow eyes. His tail had a mace-shaped tailblade, and he was muscled.

For the following days, they followed subtly that dragon, being sure to never call attention and to remain as hidden as it was possible. They followed this dragon, and learned all they could about him.

He never got out of the house before midday, and he went outside straight to places to eat and to drink. He spend his days into restaurants and walking into places to do all kinds of shopping. He bought food, and bought also some jewelry to give to some dragonesses who he got to know.

At night, he usually came back home companied with some dubious dragoness, who went away some hours later, and usually not looking happy. And at some nights, he gave a few parties, in which appeared some dragons who would make a lot of noise, and with the company of some beautiful dragonesses.

Also, sometimes he got out and went to more secluded parts of the city, after a few things that he could buy, but which were not exactly legal. Things like "Dream Dust". One powerful drug that, once inhaled, gave the person what they called a "Living Dream", and which caused extreme happiness and satisfaction. Some said that the drug gave you the illusion of having the biggest and deepest wishes of your heart fulfilled. Well, none of the two dragons could know it, for neither of them had ever tasted it, and they had absolutely no plan to do so.

And also, this dragon would often get into some kind of discussion with people, and he would calm to be "highly important", and that he deserved respect and that the "lower people" should do what he wanted and not get in his way. He often mistreated people who disagreed with him, and he usually threated others as if they were his inferiors, especially if they were clearly poorer than him.

In a few words, that dragon was an absolute spoiled, rich a-hole.

"No wonder someone wants him dead." Said the dragoness, after coming back from her last vigil and reporting all she had to say to her partner. "If I met this guy on the street I would also want him to die." She finished, scowling.

"Well, that is our job, right?" asked the dragon, who now was without his cape and hood. It was now possible to see the two small horns coming out of his head, along with all his plated midnight blue skin, and his red eyes, which looked at the dragoness. "We were hired to get rid of this guy, and that's what we are going to do."

"I know." Said the dragoness, who also was without hood, and now her body was clearly visible. She was slender, and had a very attractive figure. Her whole body is red-violet in color, with a softer violet for her underbelly, and she had white colored claws on each one of her paws. Her eyes were redder than the blue dragon's, and on her back, instead of two wings - as it would be normal for dragons - there were five. It was a birth anomaly, she had come out of her egg with more wings than normal, and they stayed on her back for years, without giving her any kind of problem, aside from the harassing and jokes from some dragons who believed they were funny.

"I just wish we could do this now." She said, her red eyes emitting one softly glow. "You should have seen what he did today! He screamed with a little hatchling until she cried only because she bumped into his leg! And he even acted as if he was right!" she said, the glow in her eyes intensification "That low-life bastard! In that moment I wish I could have just screeched right on his face with my-"

"Hazard…" the blue dragon said at her, his face serene and calm. She looked at him, and then she snorted "Relax, I didn't did it, but I wish I could had." She said, looking around. "That guy just gets on my nerves, everything about him is wrong. I'm surprised that you can stay calm after all we discovered about him, Shock." She said, directing herself to the dragon "Don't you want to kill him?"

"I do." Was his simple answer, as Shock, the dragon, looked at Hazard "But I think that there will be a right time for this, and till them, we need to remain calm, and wait for this right moment, and then, we can kill him."

"When this moment arrive I'm gonna rip out his wings." She said, flexing her claws as she imagined herself doing so, and that arrogant dragon in tears and begging for mercy.

"The death needs to seem natural." Said Shock "That was what the hirer requested, remember?" he said, and she snarled slightly, baring her teeth. The way she did it would make many brave dragons to recoil and search for a hiding spot, but Shock only looked at her, and he smiled, and said "If it makes you feel better, you can watch him die when the job is done. You can let him know that we did it."

Hazard looked at him, and she said "I'd still like to rip out his eyes." She looked at the dragon, but she smiled "But, I guess that this will be good too." And she inched closer, and nuzzled Shock "Thank you for thinking of me, darling."

Shock purred softly "You know that I love you, Hazard." He said, nuzzling her back and he purred as he did it. "After all, that's why you are my mate." He said, and she smirked as they kept nuzzling for a few minutes.

* * *

The job of killing people for rent was a job like any other. You had to work hard to make it work and to have to receive your payment. It was hard, and sometimes you've got to make some mess with your hands in order to earn your gain, and there was some risks in this job, and you came back home tired and wanting nothing more than a good rest after the job is completed.

And, like in every job, you was working in name of someone. And each hirer had different requests. For some it was for the death to seem natural or an accident. For some, it was to pass some short of message. There was even some jobs in which another person has to take the blame. But a work was a work, and you had to get it done if you wanted to have your money.

Some people would see another living being as a part of the society, and someone with family and friends and a live of its own. For Shock, and Hazard, however, once they were hired and the payment was good enough, the target became only that: a target, a thing to be eliminated in order for them to get the money.

But, not even this made it easier sometimes. Their first time killing was not an easy one, and each one of them was going to say the same thing. But, after a while, they did got used to it and after a while, it was just a regular thing, and they now didn't lost a single night of sleep because of it.

Sometimes, though, killing was even easier, even when the target was someone as despicable as this Dorian Starwing. Hazard, in particular, took personal pleasure into putting the ones like him in their place, usually by scaring them until they got wet before finishing them. This was maybe her favorite situation in this job, besides being paid.

The only part was to decide how to make the job the way the hirer requested. Like, finding out how to make Dorian's death seems natural. Well, it was possible, though hard, making him die without any sign of violence, usually by using poison. The right poisons could kill quickly without leaving marks or obvious signs, and making it look like the poor unsuspecting victim seem to have died out of a heart attack or some disease.

The only thing was to get near enough for the victim be poisoned and then walk away without calling much attention. And, despite the better judgement, Hazard convinced Shock to use an… less subtle approach in order to do this job. She wanted that guy to know perfectly well who was killing him, and she wasn't going to let anyone one, even her own mate, take this small pleasure from her.

So, with all set already, they put their plan in motion. Firstly, they arrived in the place they knew that Dorian went everyday, into on poor part of the city, one less known part, well know because of the dragonesses with dubious morals, were there and were waiting for someone who would pay for some "illegal pleasures", or something like that.

Hazard remained near an alley, and she waited there. Normally, she would never want to be confused by one of these easy dragonesses, however, jobs remained you to sometimes do things you are really not comfortable with. And being mistaken as one of _them_ was not as bad as it was going to be doing what she needed to do next for the rest of the job.

She waited there, looking at the sky, which was acquiring an orange glow, and slowly darkening as the sun was setting, making the orange change slowly to a purplish tone. Hazard remained in the shadows of the alley, and she waited in there, until she finally saw him.

Dorian Starwing, no doubt, she would recognize the brown dragon anywhere. Even if she didn't, it was easy to recognize him by the way he walked around as if he was a member of the royal family. He passed by the place as if he was seeing his kingdom, and he shot glares to anyone that came too near him as if they were trash. By his side, there was a heavy purse of coins, and he used a heavy cloak to cover himself, but it didn't helped against anyone who knew him personally, as Hazard and Shock felt like they already did, for the time they had spent spying on him.

Hazard looked at him as he walked, and she waited until he passed very near the alley she was in. It was time to work.

"Hey, you." She said as he passed, and the dragon stopped for a moment, and looked at her, being this the first time he noticed her. "Yes, you, with this big purse of yours." She said, approaching him more, and coming out of the shadows which were hiding her. She had chosen for an interesting arrangement for herself. She was wearing a reddish-violet scarf around her neck, which seemed to be made of silk, and which dragged into the ground for being so long. She was also wearing some gold colored jewelry with some red and violet crystals in them. Her wings were hidden into a long coat which covered her back, but don't moved past her hips. She smirked as she came closer to him.

Anyone who did not knew Hazard would easily mistake her with one of the dragonesses of that place, with all her small physical imperfections hidden behind a torrent of insinuations. She even shook her hips seductively, putting up her best smile for that hooded dragon as she walked closer to him.

"So, what do you carry in this purse, big guy?" she asked as she was nearer him, offering a smile "Maybe something that will bring you some company in this lonely night?" she spoke, hating to have to talk nice to a guy like that.

He looked at her, at her face and body, and slowly, a smile creeped over his face. "Well, it depends on what kind of 'company' you can offer me." He said, walking nearer her. Hazard was satisfied for seeing the plan working, but she was not satisfied for having to still be nice to him for the plan to move forward.

"Well, I can offer you a good company for the night." Hazard said, putting all her effort to sound nice and easy "If you give me the right motivation, I can offer you one company very good for this lonely and cold night, and keep you warm." She said, approaching him.

Dorian smiled at her, and he inched closer "Well, I have something that would be worth this company." He said "I was looking for a blue dragoness, and you are a bit old to me." He said, seeming not care if he was hurt her feelings, and Hazard had to hols herself back not to kill him right on the spot. "But, you are not to be thrown away, neither." He said, again, approaching "I guess we can both make this work out." He said, liking his lips suggestively, and Hazard could feel his breath on her neck.

She had to hold herself from throwing up all over him. She would love to do this and watch him walk away, but, if she did, the job could not be done right. And she and her mate had a reputation about doing their job efficiently.

So, she forced herself to keep the smile and the pose, and she said "I can assure you, I can make a very good company." Her tone was as sweet as poison, the kind that could make you drop dead in terrible agony in just a few seconds.

Dorian smiled at her, and he said "Why don't we go to my home?" his tone was inviting, and yet, suggestive "We can get a lot more comfortable in there."

"Seems very good." She said in answer, and soon, she was walking along with him. He made sure that they were taking a path in which no one would see them together. A dragon of his lineage could not risk being seems with one of these dragonesses. This was exactly what Hazard wanted, for no one could see them together, even because, she didn't wanted to be mistaken by someone who would get along with _him_ , not in a million years.

Above them, into the roofs of the area of the city, another dragon was looking down at them, from above. Shock looked down as he saw Hazard walking along with Dorian, keeping close to him, but not very much, and taking a less crowded path to his home. Yeah, everything was going according to plan.

So, as he looked down, Shock spread his wings, and flapped them very silently, slowly getting altitude and starting to hoover silently like a shadow in the night, not for a single moment losing track of the two dragons who were beneath him.

* * *

They had to walk the whole way, and the place was really far. All the time, Dorian made question of both of them remaining hidden, where no one would be able to sight them. He could not let anyone see him with her, and Hazard knew it fairly well, even living alone, he could not risk having someone he knew knowing that he wanted this kind of "company", for he had an image to keep.

He guided her to the back of his house and was very blunt when he told her to use the backwards entrance, and the lock the door once she was in. He went to the other side, to go into the front door, while he left her behind. Once he was out of sight, Hazard could finally drop her smile, and the expression on her face would have made anyone turn around and run for their dear lives.

That guy was exactly everything she hated the most. He was arrogant, he was spoiled, and he thought he could have anything he wanted just because he had money and influence. She really wished that the time of taking the smile off his face would come soon. Looking up, she was able to saw one figure with her well trained eyes.

Shock was hoovering all the time, she knew that neither him nor her were likely to make mistakes in their line of job. This came from years of doing it, and offer intense training.

So, Hazard unlocked the door, and she walked inside. She walked into an service area, from where usually the servants come, and she closed the door behind her. She did, however, let the door slightly open, and she did not locked it. As so, she walked inside, stopping for a moment to recompose herself, and force the smile and the attitude back on herself.

So, with that same smile, and the easy attitude, she walked into the house.

She passed by a very luxurious kitchen, with the floor made out of marble, and it sparkled as she passed. She barely even minded it, and walked into the living room, where Dorian had just came in. She smiled at him, and she said "You house is beautiful."

"What are you doing!?" he said in urgency, and he rushed at her. That previous attitude disappearing completely as he looked at the windows, as if someone could be spying through them in that same moment. "I told you to wait there!" he said very harshly.

Hazard could have gave him a glare that would make him never talk like that to her again, but she remained composed, and she said "Oh, I just felt lonely, and I want to see you."

"This way you will get out of here without being paid." He said harshly at her, and he practically dragged her out of the living room and into the second floor, into the place that was his room.

Hazard could have easily ripped out his leg for being so forceful to her, or even daring to touch her without her consent. But she knew that a dragon with a ripped leg would go against what the client had requested. So, she had to comply like an obedient dragoness, and let him drag her to his bedroom.

The place was well furniture, and was very big, and the bed, was wide and very luxurious. It was the kind of place that many dragonesses would dream to have their first time, for being big, beautiful, and very elegant.

Dorian, whoever, cut out the illusion very quickly, when he said "Okay now" and he practically threw Hazard forward, almost making her stumble to the ground, and he said "From now on you will refer to me as 'sir' or 'highness', got it?" he asked sternly. Anyone would thing that the charming dragon which brought them there from that place had been replaced with a general from an army.

"Don't you even want to know my name?" Hazard asked, and he practically shouted at her, "You will only speak when you have permission!"

Hazard whished now only to hit his face until he was spitting all his teeth. Did that guy did it with every dragoness he ever brought there? No wonder they all left the place being angry. He was an even greater jerk than he had seemed at first sight.

"And you will not dare to look at me that way!" he said when he saw the glare that Hazard was giving him. Many would have been intimidated by the way he was talking, and the way he was towering over her. But Hazard was not like other dragonesses. She stood her ground, and looked defiantly at him "Or what?"

Dorian looked at her stunned, as if no one had ever talked to him like that, and Hazard thought it was very possible, due to him being such a spoiled brat who was used to have all that he wanted. But the surprise was soon replaced with anger, as he snarled at her, baring his teeth, and he raised his paw, ready to smack her in the face.

"Don't you dare." Said another voice, and Dorian quickly turned around, to see a strange dragon in the door, looking at him with calculative eyes. Dorian was caught off guard, and he looked at this new dragon "Who are you!?" he demanded "How did you got in?"

The midnight-blue dragon ignored him, and kept a calm expression as he walked forward. Dorian turned to Hazard, who was smiling softly.

"You!" he said accusingly "You brought him here! You bitch!"

"Wash your mouth" said Shock calmly, "I don't like people talking like that to my mate." And he approached slowly.

"You two!" he said "You will never take anything from my home! I'll call the guard!" he turned around to leave, but Hazard grabbed his tail, and she easily pulled him and threw him into the bed.

Dorian fell into it, and he quickly had to scramble to get up, and he saw the two dragons looking at him as he was into the bed. The dragoness smiled at him, but this smile was completely different from the ones she showed him before, this one was wicked and only looking at her made his blood freeze.

For the first time, Dorian realized that he was into deep trouble, for these two were not the kind which seemed to be easily scared.

"Y-you can take anything you want!" he said, now the fear becoming obvious into him "There is a lot of money, and there is a safe into the living room behind a picture!"

They shared a look, and Shock said "Well, this would be good." He said "But, the client didn't requested it to be a robbery, did he?"

"Client?" asked Dorian, not getting it, but he was ignored.

"No, he didn't." said Hazard, with a cruel smirk on her face "He ordered it to seem a natural death."

Horrified comprehension quickly spread into Dorian's face as he realized just what was going on. Hazard smiled at him, and she approached "Got it now, pretty boy?" she asked with a tone sweet and poisonous "We are here because you made someone so angry that this person wants you dead."

Dorian looked at both dragons, and at other sides, as if he was searching for a possible escape route. But he found none.

"No…" he said "Please… Y-you don't have to do that! How much they are paying you? I double it!" he said, but Hazard and Shock kept approaching him slowly, like predators stalking their prey "I-I-I triple it!"

But they ignored, and kept approaching "I'll pay anything! Just leave me alone!" he said, the arrogance and confidence quickly leaving all his features, and Hazard chuckled at him "Sorry, pretty boy." She said "But, after the way you talked to me, there is no chance _I_ can let you go."

"You bitch!" he screamed, and was about to jump over her, but Hazard quickly reacted, she opened her mouth, and let out a screeching sound, which was companied by red colored rings of force. These rings enveloped Dorian, and he let out a gasp as red electricity crackled over his body, and he felt like all of his muscles has turned into stone as a wave of pure and absolute horror filled his heart.

He let out a single wheezing sound as he slumped into the bed, shaking and twitching his body slightly, more scared then he ever had been in his life.

Shock looked at the dragon in the bed, and then at his mate, who looked back at him, and offered a smile "What? He is not going to live till tomorrow anyway. So, I guess it doesn't matter if he knows what we can do, right?" her tone was sweet and her expression was innocent. Shock could only sigh, as she had some short of reasoning behind it, and he was not in the mood for arguing.

Hazard smirked as she felt like she had won again. Shock simply walked in direction to Dorian, who was still shaking into the bed, but unable to move of so much horror. The dragon could only watch helplessly as the blue dragon walked to him, and stood at a few feet away from him.

Shock looked down at him, and he approached his face "Now, to get the job done." He said, and as he did, some puffs of green smoke came out of his mouth.

Dorian barely had time to think or react, as Shock held his head, and opened his mouth forcefully, and opened his own mouth, and then, a torrent of green smoke expelled from his mouth, an d was forced inside of Dorian's maw.

Dorian's eyes widened as he felt the acid taste of that smoke moving inside his mouth, and being forced down his gullets, almost feeling as if it was a liquid of so thick it was. He could have tried to spit it out, but Shock held his head in place, and the lingering effect of the fear he was feeling was still impeding him to move. He could only gag and cough uselessly as the green smoke forced itself down his throat.

Shock kept expelling the smoke into Dorian's mouth, his maw so close at his that he could close his teeth around his mouth if he wanted. But this was enough for now, so, he kept sending green smoke into the brown dragon's mouth for almost one minute, before he finally stopped, and let go of his head.

Dorian's head fell right back into the bed, and he finally was able to cough, and the small puffs of green smoke that came out of his mouth quickly evaporated in thin air. He had swallowed a lot of the smoke, and now, he was feeling very strange in the inside. He was starting to sweat, and soon, he was also trembling and he felt his legs all go limp as they spasmed.

Dorian was slowly recovering the movements of his body, as the initial terror was going away, but now he was quivering violently into the bed, and he felt a terrible pain on his insides, as if he was being eaten away inside out.

Dorian was able only to let out pained wheezes as he didn't had enough strength to scream due to the immense pain into his insides. Both dragons looked at him as he squirmed in the bed, helplessly, and soon he was entering into shock.

Hazard chuckled, and she walked closer, lowering her head at Dorian's level "You like it?" she asked in a sweet whisper, "My husband's poison is of a very fast effect. It can eat away things, or it can cause any other effects." She explained to him "He can make a full variety of poisons, is a particular thing of him. You don't know how many dragons he already killed with these."

Dorian wheezed at her weakly, as he tried in vain to raise his paw at her, but he was too weak and he could only raise his trembling paw a few inches from he bed before it fell back. Hazard laughed at him "Maybe this will teach you not to treat others like you does. Bitch." She says, mocking him.

Dorian can only look at her for a moments, and then, his whole body convulses violently, and then, after a few seconds, he went completely limp, his eyes widened and void, and his skin pale.

Hazard smirked, and she turned to her husband "Another one to our list." She said, and Shock was actually able to smile at her, and he approached, and they both kissed, as if they didn't they hadn't just killed another dragon, and his body was not right there, and haven't even gone cold yet.

Hazard and Shock really loved each other. Though their personalities were very different, they shared a lot of things in common, like they both having come from poor families, and that they had to struggle a lot to live in this city. They both passed by lots of thins together since they first met. And also, they both could do things that normal dragons could not.

Hazard had this strange red ability, which inspired pure and absolute terror in the hearts of other dragons, which she referred about as "fear", and which could be used for a variety of purposes. She first discovered this ability when she was on her puberty, and her voice started to change. She quickly discovered good uses for it, like scaring away any jerk which wanted to mess with her.

Shock also has his own ability, one that clearly was of creating poison. He discovered this ability when he was already an adult and already working as a killer for rent. He attributed it at the great amounts of poison that he worked with, which always were his specialty. He soon horned it, and he discovered several different uses for this ability, and he was able to eliminate any target which came on his way.

They had discovered each other's secret during their first meeting, in which they both were hired to eliminate the same target. After their initial surprise for seeing each other, and what they were able to do, they quickly teamed up, and go the job done, receiving for both they hirers.

After that, they both started working together, soon uniting their individual fames into the one of as duo of murderers. And, after these years of working together, and keeping and sharing their secrets it was not surprise that they ended up falling in love. Nowadays, they were the most known assassins of the area, and they usually were never far apart from each other.

Hazard and Shock made an amazing duo, and a very interesting couple. Any dragon who had a minimal of a self-preservation sense, would avoid bring to himself the attention of the two unknown dragons which were only know by the name of "Last Breath".

Their true identities were unknown for the general public, and even among the darkest circles of the city, and publically, even the authorities said that they did not existed. Yet, they were known among the darkest places, and mentioned into dark whispers among the dragons the most dangerous districts, and even into the high class. They were famous and anonymous at the same time and, in their profession, was the best possible thing.

* * *

 _The next morning_

The day had started as normal into the high class district, with people doing their normal business, and soon, their employers and servants were coming from the poorer parts to work onto the houses.

They worked on several chores in these houses, from cleaning and cooking to general housekeeping and also babysitting. They could afford these jobs, and the payment was well enough for them, and for the rest of their families.

Some dragons also arrived into the home they worked, coming from a poor district in there to work, they were two housekeepers and also one chef. They have worked in there for almost one year now, being the most recent of the last workers of this house. The previous workers had been fired, or had quit themselves.

The reason was the owner of the house, who was an absolute jerk. Always threating others as if they were trash or inferior to him, and not caring not a little bit about other people's feelings or about the problems. The workers of the house had been handling him for quite sometimes, always having to do so due to the good payment, and they constantly made effort to avoid giving him any reason to fire them.

So, they arrived early, and already started doing their chores, knowing full well that the boss did not liked being woke up early in the morning. Soon the breakfast was ready for him, and so, the housekeeper soon was taking it upstairs, to give him breakfast on the bed, as he liked.

She thought it was going to be another day, with him receiving the food and later maybe complaining that the food was not good enough. But, nothing could prepare her to what she would find.

Her boss was in the bed, sprayed over it, with his eyes widen and empty, he was all sprawled over it, not moving or even breathing.

She screamed and dropped all the food in the floor, and she was soon helped out by the two other employers, who were as shocked as her for seeing their patron like that. They soon were searching for help, and they found it into the neighbors, in their employers, actually, and soon, the news started spreading.

Dorian Starwing was found dead into his bedroom.

Soon the authorities were on the place, and soon, they saw the whole house. The entrance had not been forced, so it was unlikely that someone had broken in. There was absolutely no missing items on the house, so it was surely not a theft. One neighbor saw Dorian coming back home into the previous night, and entering the door after greeting him, and the deceased dragon didn't had a single scratch or wound on his body.

So, this all lead to only one logical conclusion: Starwing had died from a heart attack.

It was not unlikely for someone his age, and, according to his neighbors and also his employers, he didn't not cared very much for his own wealth, and so, they came to conclusion that this had finally took its toll on him.

Dorian Starwing had a natural death at his middle-forties.

* * *

The news of the death of a dragon with so much importance like Dorian Starwing soon spread across the neighborhood. Some grieved his death, and some were actually happy that he had been gone for good. But one thing was certain: no one was going to shed a single tear for him.

The residents talked among themselves about the occurrence and, of course, the employers soon heard about it too, and they also talked about it among themselves, and sure, when they came back home, in the middle of the afternoon, they shared the information with their families and friends.

And this information came into the ears of a duo of dragons, who could only share a look and smirk.

* * *

Again, the hooded dragons were back into the Drunken Wyrm, they were not a very regular duo of customers, for they came once every few days, and only stayed for a few drinks, never more than that.

The dragon of the green hood slammed the cup on the balcony, and he said "Another one!" loud enough to almost the whole bar to hear. Leeran grunted at the dragon, and he said "You already had too much!"

The green dragon slammed a small purse into the balcony, and he said "I want another one! And it better be better than this one you brought now!" he said, almost as if it was a threat. Leeran scowled at him, and picked the purse, and he soon came back with another cupful. Shock took the cup as Leeran walked away with the purse which had the coins, and also the paper indicating to the client the place where to left the money for the payment.

Shock smirked, and he finished the new cup in only one gulp, at the same time that Hazard just finished the last sip of her own. They both left a few extra coins in the table, and they both turned to leave, no one staying on their way this time.

"Another job well done." Hazard whispered at her husband as they both walked away from the bar, and Shock smirked at her, and he said "And we will receive a good amount for all the effort we did."

"I still don't believe they actually paid us to kill that bastard." She said, smirking "I would have killed him for free." She finished with a cruel smirk, and Shock could only chuckle as they both walked back home.

In their way home, they passed by some other dragons, it was already the end of the afternoon, and the sun had almost completely set, casting shadowy illumination over the area, and yet, there was some movement into the streets.

There were some dragons moving across the street, and some where whispering among themselves into small groups. Hazard and Shock shared a look, as it was not very common having this kind of movement in their neighborhood after the sun had set. In their way, one familiar face came to them.

"Guys! Guys!" called a voice, and they both turned to see another dragon, a teenager nearing adulthood, running in their direction. He was slender, with grey-colored scales and white underbelly, and he had two black horns on his head and a spade-shaped tailblade, and his eyes were yellow.

"Zik." Said Shock, complimenting the young grey dragon. Zik was one well known dragon around the neighborhood, and he was known for being like an "office boy" around the place, doing a little of everything in exchange for a few coins, like going to shopping for others, and also delivering messages. Zik would do almost anything, since it was not going to keep him into any troubles.

"Hey kid." Said Hazard to him "What is up?"

Zik stopped in front of them, and he looked at both "Haven't you heard?" he asked "The Royal Guard is coming here!"

For a moment, Hazard and Shock's hearts both gave a jump. They shared a look, and tried the best to hide their surprise and worry, both already thinking that maybe it was better to use one of their planned escape routes yet tonight.

"Coming here, you say?" asked Shock, with a neutral expression "And there is a reason?"

"They are sending patrols over the whole city tonight." Zik said "They are seeking for someone who escaped the prison of Grahar!"

Hazard and Shock both shared another look. Had they heard it right?

"Are you kidding?" asked Hazard to the young dragon "That place is impossible to escape. No one has ever escaped it since it was created three hundred years ago."

"Someone did!" Zik said "That is why everyone is searching around!" he continued telling "They don't know how he did it, but they know that somehow a black dragon managed to escape from his cell, and get out of the prison, and he flew away!"

Both Hazard and Shock shared another look. They never in their whole lives heard of someone who had actually managed to escape that prison. Grahar was a place that they had learned to fear in the years of their profession, because that place meant that you would never get out. If you were sent to there, you would stay there, age in there, and die in there. It was a place that was impossible to escape from.

Well, it seemed that it was not totally true.

"And, this black dragon." Asked Shock to the young dragon "They think he is still in town?"

"They believe so!" said Zik "They are searching all the town in order to see if they can find at least a small clue of him."

"Is he dangerous?" Asked Hazard, and Zik quickly answered "They say he is! He was arrested for murdering someone, and before he escaped, he attacked one of the dragons who had come to visit. They say that anyone who see him must inform the authorities immediately. There are even some saying that they will offer a reward for him!"

Hazard eyes sparkled for a moment, and Shock noticed. He said "Well, I just hope they get him before he hurts someone."

Zik nodded, and he quickly trotted away, and Hazard said "A reward would be advantageous."

Shock chuckled "Lets just forget the matter, okay?" he said in a sweet tone "We have just finished a job, and I want just to relax." He said, as he resumed walking. Hazard soon was following him as they went to their house.

Hazard and Shock lived into a nice house in the outskirts, relatively big, and it was well taken care of. It was not luxurious enough to call attention, but it was enough for their neighbors to notice that they had a good affair of money for themselves.

While they passed the gate, Hazard continued "I would still want to go after him." She said to her husband "Just to ask him how he managed to escape that place. He is the first to ever do it."

"Well, I think we will never know." Shock said, as he unlocked the door, and opened it. Once inside, both dragons took off their hoods, and soon, Shock closed the door, and he switched something that lighted the place. This illumination was due to the called "Sun Crystals", certain crystals which emitted their own light, and were used mainly for the illumination of the houses.

A gasp was heard by the two dragons as the lights went on and they entered their living room. Normally their house was kept locked, and, due to having absolutely no copies of the key, there was no one in their house during their absence. However, this was not the case.

In the middle of their living room, there was another dragon, one they had never seen before. This dragon had a pure black body with bone-white underbelly and crimson eyes. He had goat-like horns on his head and a scythe-like tailblade. He was toned, and on his face there was a look of pure shock and fear when he saw the two dragons in there, as he had just been caught.

There was a long moment of silence, as the three dragons looked at each other, before Shock finally broke it by saying "Hello?" his tone was very calm, but yet, the black dragon soon started panicking.

"Please!" he said in a near whisper, as if he was afraid of someone in the outside looking "Please! I mean no harm!"

Hazard gave one step forward "I have to say, my dear." She said with a cruel and rather sadistic smile on her face "You have chosen the wrong house to rob." Shock looked at her, and he could not help but feel slightly sorry for this black dragon, for he was about to know what Hazard could really do if someone made her angry.

"No! I didn't came to rob your house! I swear!" he said, and Hazard laughed "Why else would someone enter in someone's house while they are away?"

The black dragon could not answer, and, after a few moments of silence, he finally decided to tell the truth "Please! I just wanted to hide."

Shock looked at him, and Hazard also "Hide? From who? Your girlfriend?"

The black dragon did not answered, instead, he looked down. Hazard was about to give him a lesson, when Shock finally realized it.

"It is you." He said slowly, making both Hazard and the black dragon look at him "You are the dragon the guard is searching. The one who escaped Grahar."

Hazard's eyes widened as she realized it too. He was the black dragon. She turned her gaze to him, and he was almost cornering "Please!" he said, begging them "Please! Let me stay here and hide! I swear I'll not try anything!"

Hazard and Shock shared a look. This was not exactly what they imagined for a dragon who was able to escape Grahar. Sure, he looked strong, and he was somewhat frightening to other dragons, but he was now begging to be let to stay, instead of threatening and demanding in order to get what he wanted. This was not exactly the description of who was in Grahar.

They both looked at the black dragon, and Hazard asked "How did you escaped?"

"I found a way." Was his answer "I had to escape, I was arrested by something I didn't do! I'm innocent!"

Hazard scowled "Everyone says that."

"It is true!" the black dragon said, desperate. Shock looked at him right in the eyes as he said that, he looked also at his face, and at his body. One thing Shock had learned in his line of work was to evaluate people, and to know if they were or not lying by search9ing for small clues on their faces or in the rest of their bodies.

Shock was very good in saying if someone was lying and, as he looked at the black dragon, he found no signs that he was lying. Right the opposite, he found only clues that said that the black dragon at least believed that what he was saying was true.

Hazard was about to give another step on his direction, and she was saying "Well, anyway, we are going to turn you in and receive the reward." She added with a cruel smirk. The black dragon's eyes melted in the purest sorrow, and he said "No…" he seemed on verge of tears "No, please… I beg you…"

"Hazard, wait." Said Shock, making his wife look at him. One single look at his face was enough to tell her that Shock thought they should rethink it. "Oh, come on!" she said "We barely know him!" she said, but Shock continued to look at her, and he gestured with his head to the black dragon, indicating her to look at him.

And look at him she did. The black dragon now, despite his toned builsing, seemed now very fragile. He kept looking at them with his begging eyes "I don't want to go back." He said, his words sounding truer than anything that Hazard had heard that day "Please… I'll do anything…"

Hazard expression softened, and she looked back at Shock, before she let out a groan.

* * *

 _Knock, knock, knock_

The door was tapped, and soon, it was opened. Hazard saw herself in front of a group of dragons bearing armors with the symbol of the crown. The leader of them stepped forward, and he said "Miss."

"Hello, sir." Hazard said in a sweet tone "It is something wrong?"

"Miss, would you by any chance having seems a black dragon with a scythe tailblade?" he asked, and Hazard made that she was thinking for a moment, and she said "not in recent times. Why, is something wrong?"

"This dragon is a dangerous criminal who is being searched."

Hazard made her best worry expression, and she said "Really? Is he around this area?"

"We are searching in the whole city. If you see him, or if you have any kind of clue of him, you must report immediately to the authorities."

"Oh, I will sir! You may be sure of that!"

"Thank you, and good night." The guard said, and soon, they all were going their own way. Hazard soon closed the dor, and she let out a big sigh that she had been holding. Inside, there was the Exedra and Shock, both relieved when she told them they had gone away and didn't suspected anything.

"You own us a big one." She said to Exedra, who could only say: "Thank you! Thank you! I'll never be able to thank you enough!"

"Well, this we may see." She said, looking at him "So, where do you plan to go to now?"

Exedra stopped for a moment, and he looked to the ground. Both dragons looked at him, and Shock asked "You don't have where to go, have you?"

Exedra looked at him, and he shook his head. Shock than gave one look at Hazard "Oh, no!" she said "We already prevented him from going back to jail, and we put ourselves at a great risk doing so!"

Shock only kept looking at her, and Exedra said: "I can stay hidden, and no one will see me!" he was almost pleading "I can do chores in the house to repay you."

Hazard looked at him, and back at her husband, who was still giving her _that_ look. Hazard let out a heavy sigh "If we both are dragged to prison with him, I swear I'm going to kill both of you."

"Thank you!" said Exedra "Thank you! I'll do all I can to repay you!"

Hazard then said "Really?" and she gave a smug smirk "Do you cook? I'm starving."


	5. The Judgement of the Galaxy

The world turn slowly, the great masses of earth which made the continents which floated across the great blue ocean which covered most of the surface of the sphere which the dragons called home.

The different continents each held with themselves thousands, if not millions of dragons and several other creatures who lived in them. They all where over there, and they lived their daily lives on their own, not bothering to think that could have been something besides their own world.

Of course, this was the normal knowledge that it was nothing out there. They knew that the stars were just dots of light far away created by the elder gods long ago to illuminate the sky. They knew that there was only a big and void empty after the moon and sun, and that there was nothing besides their own world.

Everybody knew that, and anyone who spoke about beings from "another world" would only earn himself the title of "madman" and be completely ignored by the rest of the society. For they knew that there were no other beings and no life outside their world.

They had absolutely no idea of just how much they actually were wrong.

For, right outside their planet's atmosphere, too far for the common eye to reach without help, and orbiting very close to the sphere of dust that they called moon, was one body that seemed made out of some strange material. It was half as big as a whole village, and it hoovered slightly, emitting some kind of humming, that could be heard if there was any air around to propagate the sound.

The great object had a very strange shape, and it also had several windows all over it, some small, other very big. These windows were turned to the blue orb that was that little planet, and they seemed to be staring at it.

Over one of these windows, inside the ship, there was some kind of dragon. This dragon, who was a dragoness, was dark-purple in color with several white flecks on her wings, which sparkled on their own, almost as if they were stars. Her eyes were regal-purple in color, and they were fixated into the blue planet that they were orbiting in that moment as she sat on her haunches.

Her room was very luxuriously decorated, and it had an atmosphere of pure royalty. The walls were purely crimson with golden lining all over it, and the bulbs all over the wall gave the place a golden illumination. There was a huge bed all over it, and also, a drawer of a gigantic mirror. Anyone who walked into it, would easily mistake it into the room of someone who was royalty.

Well, in a way, it was, for it was the room of her. She kept looking at the planet, when she suddenly heard a sound, it was the sound of the sliding doors sliding open. She turned around, and she was met with a mechanical being, which was one of the servant robots. It looked at her with its only visor, and it spoke, into a mechanical voice "Mistress Galaxia. Your parents solicited your presence."

Galaxia, the dragoness, looked at the robot, and she said "Thank you. I'll be at his presence in a moment." The robot bowed at her, and turned around to leave gliding slightly. The doors closed again, and Galaxia sighed.

She walked over to her drawer, and stood in front of the mirror. She used some tissue to clean the small stains which were on her face, and she passed a small brush over her teeth. She finished by passing some spray over her mouth, to have help her breath better. She inhaled her own breath, and she sighed as she walked to the door, which immediately slide open as she came closer.

She get out into a long hallway, grey in color at the walls, with blue lines running over it. And, in these line, travelled dots of blue whine, as if they were following some kind of flow. Galaxia walked across these hallways, in which she had already walked dozens of times, and that she practically knew as her second home.

She just wished they had found themselves a better neighborhood…

* * *

 _Galaxia sighed as she looked at that ball of stone that was inhabited by several other creatures which looked like her and her family. Of course, they were totally different from them in several different way._

 _They were brute, ignorant, cruel, selfish, arrogant, and they had several other defects. They were so savages, and each time she looked at what they did to each other and to their world, she felt a wave of revulsion._

 _She wished they were still near that green colored planet. The life in there was much more beautiful. There was no sentient, life, but, at least, the creatures in there didn't killed each other out of pure hate. They simply followed their nature, but the dragons on this planet, they lied, cheated, stolen and murdered out of several reasons._

 _"Bunch of stupid creatures." She said to herself as she was laying to sleep. These creatures in this planet were just so ignorant and so uncivilized. She came from a world where the things of war and corruption had been left behind a real long time ago. She had the luck to grown up away of all of this, and she did not liked not a little of having to deal with this stuff into that disgusting ball of mud._

 _She never imagined that sentient creatures, which claimed themselves to be "civilized" would be able to act in such a savage way, and be able to create much more misery and trouble than to actually do something useful._

 _And anyone could notice that her father thought the same way. Galaxia knew that it was just a matter of time before her father would finally decide what to do with that planet. And Galaxia hoped that he would. Or that they would, at least, get the farther way from that planet as possible._

* * *

Galaxia walked across the long hallway, and she passed by many cross paths in her walk. She was already used to that ship, since she already passed part of her life in it. She knew it as well as her own claw, and she sometimes felt like she could navigate perfectly well in there with her eyes closed.

She had no time to arrive into another big sliding door, which slide open to let her pass. Soon, she was inside a big hall into the ship. This hall was big enough for several dragons top fit in there together with little trouble, and it was luxuriously decorated with golden and purple, the colors of her family.

Over the wall into the far end of the room, there was a big symbol printed which showed a purple circle with a ring over it, mimicking a planet with a ring. This was the symbol of her family, the Daglax house, one distinctive clan of space-dwellers known for going all over the galaxy and over near galaxies in search for planets which could possibly support sentient life, and also resources which could be explored

In there, standing into an elevation, which seemed an altar, was standing a male dragon, who looked a lot like her. This dragon had a dark-purple hide, and he had seven long horns with projected from his head, and he had deep red eyes. He was muscled, and he showed to be amazingly fit and resilient, considering that he had a very advanced age. This was Turin Daglax. He was the patriarch and the elder of the Daglax clan, and he was Galaxia's father.

By his side, there was a lavender-colored dragoness, which was very beautiful, and had four horns coming out of her head, and she stood proudly next to Turin. Her eyes were violet colored and they showed some kind of power that could make most people look away. She was Gadana Daglax. She was the wife of Turin and she was Galaxia's mother. Though she was known for being kinder than her husband, she was also known for having iron paw when it came to deliver judgments over others. Everyone knew that she was not the kind of dragoness you could expect to anger and simply walk away calmly.

Galaxia walked across he hallway, and she stood in front of both her parents, who looked down at her. She bowed her head, and made a reverence to them "Father. Mother." She said, with the due respect which were owned to the elders of her clan "Did you wanted to see me here?"

"Yes, my daughter." Was Gadana's answer, as the younger purple dragoness raised her eyes to look at them. "Your father and I have some important discussion to have with you."

Galaxia looked at her parents, waiting to hear whatever they both had to tell her. Her father was the next to speak "We have been watching that small planet we are orbiting now for quite a while." His voice was serious. His tone was powerful, and it would make many dragons recoil in fear before him. "And after this time, we have come to a decision about it."

Galaxia looked intently at her father and he spoke "We have decided to pour our judgement over it." His tone was calm and very relaxed when he said that, but was still deadly serious. Galaxia looked up at her father, and she nodded at him. If she was more daring she would have said:

"I thought you would never ask."

* * *

 _Galaxia was still a teenager, she was just looking at the window and into the floating sphere in the void of space._

 _Once it was a big planet, green and with some hints of pink around it, and covered in 1/3 of water. It was a big planet, with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. But, that was 24 hours ago. Now, it was a blackened sphere, with some cracks in it in which were possible to see the magma that ran beneath the surface of it. Just a big and lifeless ball of rock into the middle of the space._

 _Galaxia looked at it for a few moments, and for a moment, a small spark of grief passed over her eyes. She blinked a little, as she looked at that floating sphere. It was once full of life, and now, it was a dead planet…_

 _All these beings…_

 _Many of them had no idea what happened…_

 _Many didn't knew why that was happening._

 _Galaxia kept looking at it, until she was surprised by a voice "It was necessary."_

 _She turned her head, to look at her father, who was standing by her side, looking seriously at the floating orb, and his face was devoid of any emotion._

 _"That planet was full of corruption, and the society was overly violent." He said, and Galaxia knew, that even if he was not looking at her, his words were directed to her and her alone. "Overtime it would have crumbled over itself. The inhabitants would destroy the world and each other. They would never get to be as advanced as we are."_

 _Galaxia looked at him, and, as if he could hear her thoughts, he continued "And even if they somehow survived enough for that, they would become a trouble." He kept looking at the dead planet "Their aggressive behavior would make them put the other worlds in danger. Logic told they were going to do it."_

 _Finally, he looked over, finally looking his daughter in the eyes. "We did the right thing." He said, this time, his tone was softer, almost gentle, as he spoke to his daughter. Galaxia looked at him, and she nodded, and she turned back at looking at the dead planet that once was full of all kinds of life._

 _This time, Galaxia was able to look at that with the same coldness that were on her father's eyes._

 _They had done the right thing._

* * *

"The creatures that inhabit that planet are overly violent and they destroy the ambient around themselves at an alarming rate." Turin continued his speech, while Galaxia listened with attention to each word. "They attack each other, and they attack other species for several futile reasons, like riches and land and glory. They waste lives and resources in their quests for more, and they never are satisfied with what they have."

He made a pause, and he said "Of all these creatures, the ones that seem to be the most troublesome, are the ones who call themselves 'dragons'". He said, and Galaxia for a moment tried to dug her claws into the metal ground.

Dragons. Arrogant and stupid and violent and unspeakably vain. They were the most arrogant of the races, and also they claimed to be the best. Of course, many other creatures claimed the same thing, but the dragons seemed to have a particular tendency to convince themselves of that. To the point that they attacked other poor creatures and treated others like dirty in name of their "superiority".

When she first saw one of these creatures Galaxia was first hopeful on them as kind, since they looked very much like her and her kin. But her hopes soon were frustrated as she saw that their way of acting was almost savage. They had absolutely nothing to do with her and her people, and would most likely never have.

He looked right at Galaxia as he continued "If they actually live enough to learn the necessary to travel to other worlds, and make contact with other sentient races, what I highly doubt, they may pose a serious threat to other nations." He them looked at his daughter in the eye "As so, it is our duty to have the judgement upon them before they can pose a threat."

Galaxia bowed her head in acknowledge, she completely agreed with her father, and she knew what would come next, as Turin continued "You have reached the mastery of your abilities recently, my daughter, and you have already reached full adulthood. So, we decided that you shall be the one to bestow judgment over that planet."

Galaxia raised her head to look back at her father, in this moment, some kind of spark flashed in her eyes. "I will do it with great satisfaction, father." She said, and Turin nodded "I know you will. After all, I know that you are a member of the Daglax house, and as so, you will not falter or fail."

As he said that, he resumed a standing pose. He looked down at her, as he continued "Sadly, for giving them their judgement, this will require you to go to that planet, and study them for a few planetary cycles, in order to decide the best way of doing so."

Galaxia had to held back a frown. Living among these disgusting creatures was something that she'd rather avoid. They were simply revolting. Yet, if it was for doing what was necessary, she was willing to do this sacrifice. She bowed her head slightly in acknowledge.

"In other occasions we would like to avoid exposing you to such a despicable planet." He father continued "But, we need you to start taking your part into the legacy and the duty of the family, and we decided that it would be a good start for you."

"I'll do it father." Galaxia said simply, and her father nodded, and he said "As you see, the main creatures of that planet are very similar to use physically, so, it will require a minimum of disguise to go among them. Yet, you will need at least a holoprojector to pass yourself for one of them, since, as we could observe, dragons of the purple color seem to be very rare, and we don't want attention."

Galaxia once again nodded, and she stood still, until her father said "This is all. You may go get yourself ready. You will be parting in sixty cycles."

"Yes, father." Galaxia said once more, bowing her head, and turning around to leave. As she was walking away, her father called her one more time.

"Galaxia."

The purple dragoness turned her head to look at her father, who looked back at her "You must be careful, for they are dangerous. Don't trust in any of them, and if one of them threatens you, you have full permission to use your abilities against it."

Galaxia looked at her father. She knew that telling her to be careful and that he worried about her was not the kind of thing he would normally do. Yet, she knew that what he had told her now, was probably the closest to it she would probably get. So, she had to answer at the same level, with a polite "I will father." And she turned around, and she left.

The doors slid open for her to pass and closed behind herself. Galaxia finally let out the breath she had been holding for quite a while.

"Great." She said to herself "Now I'll have to walk among these creatures. Well, at least I'll be able to teach them a lesson if they came near me." She said, as she was happy that her father had allowed her to use her abilities if needed.

* * *

 _Galaxia was in the middle of an empty room, and she was breathing lightly as she looked around. She was only a teenager. Soon, the circuit-like marks all over the walls started glowing, and this glow spread to the rest of the room, until it was only pure white in colors._

 _After a few moments, the glow died down, and soon, Galaxia was in the middle of a forest with pink colored trees, which surrounded her, hearing the sounds of birds from a world that was too far away from her. A Mechanical voice coming from above said "Training routine 5072624. Level 5"._

 _Galaxia let out a breath as she heard it, and she quickly adopted fighting pose as she looked around herself, ready to what the holosimulator had to offer her._

 _She stood still as soon as she heard noises. Hustling into the bushes as something was moving into them. She kept her eyes open, as well as her sight, being perfectly attentive to every single move that was happening into her vision field._

 _She saw all the bushes around hustling, one at a time, as what was in there tried to circle her. She did not closed her attention at a single target, though, for she knew that, if she was facing what she was thinking, that would be a serious mistake._

 _The hustling lasted for a few more moments, before there was only silence._

 _For a few slow moments, the life seemed to have died down. There was not a single sound, not hustles, not the single blowing of the wind. Still, Galaxia stood her ground, ready to an attack she knew that she should be waiting._

 _Then, it came._

 _Fomr one of the bushes on her left side, something jumped out, it was just a green and blue colored blur, but Galaxia knew what it was, and knew it was coming at her. It was more than enough for her._

 _Focusing into the space of a split second, she sent the energy of her body in direction to her chest, right under her heart, and let it take shape. After the space of less than a second, ti felt like something had hardened inside of her, and she quickly turned her head and opened her mouth._

 _As she did it, one miniature meteor of blue and purple color flew out of her mouth, and it hit the blur square, bursting into a big cloud of stardust._

 _The blur that it hit fell to the ground, and it laid there. Galaxia looked at what had jumped over her. It was one small creature that was more insect than anything else. It had a long body and sis long and segmented legs that came out. It had a long tail ending into a mean-looking sting, and it has four red eyes on its face and a long muzzled filled with sharp fangs._

 _A Gurgaglin. Just like she thought. The claws on the legs were as sharp as the fangs, but the biggest worry was the sting on the tail. Is injected a powerful neurotoxin that could render any creature immobile for hours. If she had been hit by that, she would be completely powerless and would probably have to watch helpless as the thing started eating her body with her still alive. She shuddered at this thought._

 _But she knew that she had no time to worry about it, she immediately got back to fighting pose, right before the bushes around her hustled, and a sound filled the clearing she was in. It was a mix of a hiss and a growl, and it was coming form all directions. Galaxia already knew what to wait, and so, she remained still._

 _After a few moments, more Gurgaglins jumped out of the bushes, all crying out and with their stingers ready, aiming for the kill of the prey._

 _Galaxia breathed quickly, and she opened her mouth to exhale a phosphorescent mist of nebula all around herself, made out of fragments of stardust and comet material. It spread all around her, and it made its work, which was to blind and confused the creatures._

 _Soon, the nebula formed a cloud around her, which protected her from being found by the creatures, at the same time that it glued it's dust on their bodies, making it itchy and making them glow lightly, what helped distract them, as others came out of the bushes, and fell into the same trap._

 _Galaxia had nothing to worry about, for the nebula would not glue on her, and she, unlike the creatures, could clearly see through it. She was at perfect advantage._

 _With quick moves, she danced across the battlefield, delivering powerful blows with her claws, strong enough to completely break the shells of these things. They cried out as they were crushed, and this sound was heard by the ones which were around, and they looked around confused, trying to pin-point the exact point where the prey was. But it was useless._

 _Galaxia had them right where she wanted._

 _Aiming for the ones which were left, she opened her mouth, and let out a torrent of small meteors, all which exploded in impact, sending debris everywhere and making the creatures screech loudly as they were one by one terminated by the projectiles the dragon shot at them._

 _Soon, they were gone, but the nebula cloud was still up. And it soon proved to be the right choice, for more of them came out of the bushes, much more. They clamped their jaws around furiously, trying to search for a target blindly among that cloud._

 _Galaxia decided it was time to end this._

 _She focused onto her chest, and now, she felt it being filled by a great void. After a few moments, she opened her mouth, and a sphere of pure black and void came out. Immediately, the cloud of nebula around it started being sucked inside, as well as the corpses of the creatures destroyed, and the ones which were still alive and biting._

 _They cried out and they desperately tried to hold onto something to save them, but it was useless, as the miniature black-hole consumed everything which was around. Galaxia was the only being standing calmly among that black void which devoured everything around. The only effect it had on her was making her shiver slightly, as it also sucked the heat from the ambient to inside itself._

 _After almost one minute, there was no one single creature left out besides the purple dragoness. It had been enough. She immediately flicked a switch in her mind, and the black hole itself seemed to diminish, and then, it simply evaporated, as it had never been even there, to start with._

 _Galaxia smiled at herself, and she looked around, seeing that the place was completely clean. She had made a good job in this one, and now she had broken her own record of time. She had all the reasons to feel proud for herself._

 _Just as she was enjoying this feeling, she heard a loud growl coming from the bushes. She immediately turned around, and soon, she saw the bushes trembling, soon before a big creature came from behind them._

 _The creature looked like a gurgaglin, except that it was crimson-red in color, and it was much bigger. It was probably as big as her own father! I had some short of collar on its neck, and there was a creature ridding its back and controlling it with a harness. It was an anthropomorphic creature, with a long muzzle and covered into blue fur. It was using some made-shift primitive clothes, and was branding a big club made of wood and bone as it looked down at her, crying something in a language she did not understood._

 _Galaxia looked at that creature, which, for what she knew, was not native from the planet in which the gurgaglins lived. But, she had heard that sometimes gurgaglins could be taken form their homeland and be taken to other parts of the galaxy, and that, sometimes, some species caught them and trained them to serve as beasts of war._

 _The creature cried out something as it pulled the harness of it's mount, and it pointed at Galaxia as it did. It probably were orders to attack, for it was exactly what the gurgaglin did next. It advanced at Galaxia, with it's jaws opened and the sting ready for battle._

 _Galaxia had little time to think as she instinctively dodged the incoming beast, avoiding the jaws and avoiding the sting by few inches. She rolled on the ground and stopped a few feet away from the big beast, and panted as she looked at it._

 _The creature soon recovered, and the rider was shouting out commands like crazy._

 _Galaxia had to gather her thoughts as she decided what to do now. She looked at the creature and its rider, and she soon remembered what she was taught about big creatures like that._

Aim for the leg

 _And that was what she did. She breathed deeply, and focused her energy on her chest, and soon, she liberated it as a wave of pure cosmic force of orange color, which hit the creature straight on the second leg of the right._

 _It cried out as it almost stumbled as the leg was burned by energy of a sun, and iot had to search for footing not to go to the ground with its rider. The said rider kept shouting commands as it pulled in the harness, in an attempt to keep his mount standing._

 _Galaxia saw her chance, and so, she did the same thing with the rest of the legs, hitting two more, and making the creature dangerously low in balance. It was about to fall to the ground, and totally out of focus. So, Galaxia focused all her energy into her chest, and let it flow to her mouth, and she opened it, to release what seemed to be a miniature white star, which flew to the creature, and hit it square in the head._

 _The explosion which followed had much more light than sound, and even Galaxia was forced to protect her eyes of the bright light. The rider was launched off the back of its mount by the sheer power of the explosion, and soon, the light died down. Galaxia looked over, and she saw that the head of the creature had been completely destroyed. The body stood for a while, and them, it fell to the ground, the remaining legs twitching lightly before remaining completely still._

 _Galaxia looked over, and saw the rider on the ground. She wasted no time into flying to him, and landed on his chest, pinning him as her mouth emitted that same white glow from before._

 _The creature cried out, and it covered its head, in an attempt to block an attack that would most likely kill it._

 _But this said attack never came._

 _Galaxia could only look at the creature she had pinned down. She just didn't felt like she could do it. Killing a beast like a gurgaglin was one thing. But this creature, it was most likely sentient, even if it was not very smart. It was not the same thing, Galaxia just knew it was not. And she could not force herself to do it._

 _The creature, realizing the attack was not coming, lowered its arms, in time to see the purple dragoness look down at it, with many would recognize as pity, and the light in her mouth died down._

 _For a long moment, she just stared at it, and then, she got of its chest, and turned around to walk away._

 _Yeah, this had been an interesting training. Maybe next time she could-_

 _Suddenly, she felt something hit hard on her side, sending her to the ground. She was slightly dazed, and she blinked as she tried to understand what had hit her. Suddenly, she was pinned down, with something on her chest and pinning her front paws to her sides._

 _Galaxia took a few moments to realize it was the creature she had just spared. It threw the club it used to hit her to the side, and pulled out a dagger made of bone. The previous helpless expression now had been replaced by one of anger and sadistic satisfaction as it looked down at the pinned dragoness._

 _Galaxia didn't had any time to react, as it raised the dagger high above its own head, and brought it down fast over Galaxia, aiming for her heart._

 _She only had time to scream as the dagger suddenly stopped, the tip just one inch away from her chest._

 _The whole scene around her seemed to have been frozen in time, as one computer voice around her said "Training failed. Sequence finished." And soon, the whole ambient around Galaxia started top decompose and disappear into dots of data._

 _The bushes and trees around her, the gurgaglin which was on the ground, and even the creature which pinned her to the ground. They all decomposed into dots of light and disappeared, as the ambient became pure white again. And soon, this white light died down, and Galaxia was back into the middle of the empty room._

 _She was breathing heavily, as she laid in the ground, her mind still too scared to allow her to move. Even if she knew that the holosimulator would never truly hurt her, what she had just passed was a little too realistic to her taste. Her heart was still resisting to return to the normal rating, beating far faster than normal._

 _She barely even notices the doors of the training room opening, and the footsteps coming on her direction, as claws tapped into the metal floor, until there was a figure over her._

 _Galaxia blinked, when she saw her father looking down at her, his expression as neutral as regular. She quickly tried to recompose herself, and get back on her feet. Her legs still shaken, but she managed to stand as straight as it was possible in front of him._

 _The older purple dragon looked down at his daughter, and then he spoke "Well, your training could have ben better." Galaxia's head lowered when she heard that, and he continued "Yes, your control and usage of your abilities has greatly increased, but you still need to think your decisions."_

 _"I didn't thought he was going to attack me." Galaxia said before she could stop herself from doing so. Her father looked down at her "Why?" he asked her, not sounding angry "Because it looked more intelligent than the beasts? Because it had a cuter facer?"_

 _Galaxia did not answered, instead, she looked at the ground "He had sentient" she said "It was not the same thing."_

 _"I know it wasn't." said Turin "But he was one savage creature, independent if he was sentient or not." He said into a serious tone, and now, he sounding reproving. "You should have already expected him to attack you as soon as he had the chance, not having mattered it your spared it's life."_

 _Galaxia kept her eyes on the ground. "Daughter, look at me." He said to his daughter, and she raised her eyes to look into his'. "These primitive and savage creatures are not like us." He said to her, sounding very serious "They know only violence, and they are arrogant and cruel, willing to do anything to get what they desire. They don't care for who they are hurting as long as they get it."_

 _Galaxia looked at him as he continued "They don't offer any mercy to anyone who they consider their enemy, so you must not offer it to them. If you have the chance to kill one, you must do it, before they have the chance to do it to you. Understood?"_

 _Galaxia looked into her father's eyes, and she quickly nodded "Yes, sir!"_

 _"Good. Don't forget the lesson of today." He said, and the turned around to leave, letting his daughter behind, as he spoke "You need to clean yourself, soon it will be time for feeding." And the doors closed behind him._

 _Galaxia stood there, thinking about what she learned today, about the mistake she did, and she was taking not to never do it again._

* * *

Galaxia was back at her quarters, and she was putting some equipment she was going to need into a bag. She put one small container of nanomeds, in case she got hurt or if she got any disease from them. She also was carrying one small stunning gun and a projector of repulsion field. She had full trust into her abilities, but it never hurt to be ready for emergencies. She also made sure of packing some of her food, for there was no way that she could eat that disgusting thing that the inhabitants of that dirty planet called 'food'. And she was also taking the scanner, to evaluate any possible dangers in her way. Actually, it was most routine, since she doubted she was going to find anything that was worth being analyzed.

After her bag was ready, she got herself the holoprojector. It was a piece of metal that at first sight could look like a collar, and which had several circuits running over it's surface. She looked in the mirror, and the placed one few commands over the object, before putting it on her neck, and starting the functioning of it.

Her form seemed to oscillate slightly and bend, as her colors changed. Soon, there was a red dragoness with orange underbelly and tail membrane looking at her back at the mirror. She turned her face and the dragoness in the mirror did the same. After a few moments, Galaxia decided that she didn't liked this disguise.

She removed the collar, and her body returned to the normal color. She then tapped a little more commands, sending what had been just programmed into something else. So, she oyut it again, and then, her body changed again. Now, she was a indigo-colored dragoness with baby-blue underbelly and wing membrane.

She examined the new appearance she had into the mirror. Yeah, it looked better than the colors she had a few moments before, but still, it was not as good as her regular appearance. Galaxia didn't liked the perspective of looking like the savages that inhabited the planet. But it was needed, and she knew it, so, she was going to have to make this sacrifice.

Sighing, and satisfied with her new shape, she deactivated the collar. At least, she was not going to look like these creatures more than she actually needed.

She sighed as she took the last checking her supplies, and she saw that it was all in place, and that she had packed all that she could possible need to go into that little planet. She just wished she had a little more time to prepare her mind and her spirit to go in there. But she had no time. She had more 30 cycles to present herself and be ready to be taken to there to initiate what she had to do.

With a big sigh, Galaxia put the bag over her shoulder, and started walking out of the room, ready to do her family's duty.

* * *

 _Galaxia was still a pre-teen, she was very young and she was taking classes with her father. Turin looked down at his daughter, as she paid full attention to him and to all that he said._

 _"Always remember, Galaxia." Her father spoke "You must always put your duty above your own necessities, and the necessities of others above yourselves'." he spoke, and Galaxia made sure to engravate each word of what he spoke into her mind._

 _Turin had made absolute question of teaching his daughter himself, to begin sure that she was going to learn it right, and according to his terms. He was teaching her all that she absolutely needed to know for the future, and to carry on her place as a member of the Daglax. In theory, it was virtually everything about their duty into searching the planets and seeing each ones had the potential to become future members of the galactic alliance, and which ones were far too savage for this._

 _"But, what if they are not civilized, sir?" Galaxia spoke, she was taught since early age to refer to her father always by the honorific tone, especially now that she was no longer a small kid. Turin looked down at his daughter, and he said simply "Then, we descent our judgement in them."_

 _"Oh." Galaxia said, and she looked down. She knew exactly what "judgement" meant. It meant ending that planet right on spot. It was done to the planets which the future population had chances of someday posing a threat to other civilizations. It was done only with planets in which had a sentient race which was considered to be too barbarian for its own safety and of other beings. The process was long, and it may take four or five planetary cycles to be completed._

 _It ended the existence of that said sentient species, but the rest of the animal life in the planet was saved, and the planet had good chances of recovering from the damage, and starting over. It was like some kind of "start over", they cleaned the planet and gave it a chance of staring anew._

 _"But… what if the ones in the planet are not that bad?" she asked, and Turin looked at his daughter with smart eyes._

 _"They always are."_

 _"But what if-" she started, but her father silenced her._

 _"Our job is to evaluate the population of an planet by the way they behave, and by the way they treat their ambient, other creatures and each other." He said to her, his tone very serious "We never give on the judgement to a planet unless we are absolutely sure that the species will bring no more than problem."_

 _He lowered his head to look at her in the eyes "We follow logic." He said "If one creature is savage and aggressive for generations, then there is no reason to believe that it will cease to be. They attack their own world and each other out of stupid reasons, then why not believe that they will attack pacific civilizations for said reasons?"_

 _Galaxia looked at him as he spoke "We follow logic, and we rely on it. We are sure of one thing, and then, we do what is necessary. Never forget that, understood?"_

 _His tone was serious, as it usually was as he gave her the lessons, specially the important ones. "Y-yes, sir!" she said, and he nodded._

 _Yes, Galaxia could never forget that._

* * *

"Remember." Said Turin as he gave the last advices to his daughter, who was standing into a platform which had glowing blue circles under herself, and was disguise with her new shape "While you are in your disguise, your name will be Nalina Swifttail"

"Yes, sir." Galaxia spoke, as the circle beneath her was glowing softly, as two other dragons were working into a console, setting off the coordinates for her to arrive in there.

"Don't trust into these creatures, and never drop your guard while you are in there, remember, though they may seem civilized, they are savages and violent." He continued, and Galaxia said "I'll be the most watchful at all the times, sir."

"If you need to use force, then use it, and don't hesitate into finishing off one of these creatures, for they will do the same to you."

"Yes, sir. No mercy."

"And, Galaxia."

"Sir?"

Turin looked at his daughter for a few moments, and he said "Come back safe."

Galaxia looked at her father for a few instants, and she said "I will."

And with that, Turin nodded at her, and at the two dragons who worked into the console. They made the final adjustments, and then, they set off the engine, and a computer voice said "Matter Transporter ready."

The blue circles beneath Galaxia started moving faster, as they glowed softly and a loud rumbling sound filled the air. She gave one last look at her father, who looked at her, and nodded, and she nodded back.

"Readying transportation of molecules. Please, stand still, and keep your tails, wings and paws inside the circle at all times." The computer voice said, as the circles beneath Galaxia moved even faster, and they emitted strong blue light, which raised to form a wall around Galaxia.

The blue dragoness was calm inside the circle as she was surrounded by a wall of light, and she could still see her father on the outside, looking at her with that expression. The expression that told her to never diverge from her mission, no matter what would appear on her way.

And she was going to do it. She was going to focus on the path that was made for her, and she was never going to stray from it. She was going to go till the end for her main goal, and that the stars were have pity for the one who dared to stand on her way.

As she thought about it, the strong light around her grew stronger, and soon, it suffocated the view of all around herself, as she was surrounded by the light, until all her vision went white.

Galaxia felt like she was being tossed around and spun at all directions at the same time, and that each part of her body was being turned into a different direction. She had already passed by the transporter a few times, but she doubted that someday she would actually be used to that thing.

It lasted only for a few seconds, before it ended, and her vision started clearing again, and she soon was materialized into one desert alley. Any possible out looker would see a dragoness materializing out of thin air into a circle of blue colored light. Luckily, there was absolutely no witnesses, what was good, for Galaxia could not let any of the natives to see her and discover her purpose to be in there.

Not until it was too late, at least.

She sighed, and took a few moments to breathe and to recover, before she looked at all sides to be sure that no one saw her, and soon, she was walking across the alley.

Soon, she arrived into an open street. There were a lot of dragons walking to each side, and it was probably mid-day, or something like that. She stood in the street for a few moments, and no dragons noticed her. She took it as a sign that she was well disguised, and so, she started walking, soon she was blending into the crowd which surrounded her.

* * *

 _Galaxia was just a young dragoness, and she was led by some servants to her parents' chambers._

 _Galaxia was slightly scared._

 _Why they were taking her to her father?_

 _She did something wrong?_

 _She was scared that she might get punished._

 _After a while, they arrived in front of a door, and soon, it slid open, to reveal that her father and mother were already there, and they seemed to be waiting, and they both had serious expressions in their faces._

 _Galaxia cornered slightly against one of the servants legs, as if it would turn her invisible. Both of her parents looked at her, and her father said "Galaxia, come closer."_

 _The small purple dragon hesitated, she was scared that they were going to punish her, but her mother said, in a gentler tone "Darling. Please, come closer, we want to talk to you."_

 _Her tone made Galaxia relax a little, and so, she mustered the courage to walk closer with hesitant steps, and the servants remained where they were, their heads bowed in a sigh of respect for the Daglax._

 _Galaxia soon was in front of her parents, and they both looked down at her. "Galaxia." He father spoke, he didn't sounded angry, but he sounded as if what he was going to say was serious "Do you know why we called you here?"_

 _The purple dragoness shrunk slightly, and she said "N-no."_

 _Turin looked down at his daughter, and he nodded._

 _"D-did I do something wrong?" Galaxia asked, and Turin answered "No, you didn't." and he approached his daughter "The servants told that, while you were playing, it happened something quite interesting."_

 _Galaxia looked at him, and she felt like she knew what he was talking about. He was talking about the thing what had happened a while ago. What made the servants go surprised, and one of them run immediately out. She knew she was in trouble in that moment._

 _"A-about that…" she said, and her father approached "Galaxia, I want to know if what I was told is true. You really did it?"_

 _Galaxia looked up at her father, who did not seemed angry. For a moment, she considered maybe lying, but, she knew better that it would not fool her father. So, with no other choice, she nodded, assuming the truth._

 _"A-am I in t-trouble?" she asked, and her father said "No, not at all." And he looked at her, and he asked "Daughter, you think you could do it again now?"_

 _Galaxia was slightly surprised at his request. She wasn't sure if she could do it again. When she did it, it was by accident, and she was just playing. Now, her father wanted her to do it I front of him, and she was worried that she might not do it, and leave him angry._

 _Nonetheless, she nodded, and she tried to do again. She closed her eyes and focused into doing it. She tried to remember exactly what she had done, and she took a few deep breaths. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out._

 _She looked nervous at her father, who was watching her carefully, and she tried again. Nothing._

 _She was starting to get worried, and her mother approached and she said "Darling, you are too nervous." She said gently "Try to calm down and relax."_

 _Galaxia looked at her mother, who talked to her, and she followed her advice. Her words were able to calm her down. Galaxia focused again, and she closed her eyes, and felt that tingling inside her guts, right above her tummy. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth, and then, came out one single miniature star, shining white, and spreading warm and light around itself._

 _Both Turin and his wife looked at their daughter, both remaining impassive before the star, but the servant going wide-eyed. The star shone for a few moments, before it died down, and Galaxia looked at her parents, wondering what was going to happen now._

 _Then, for her surprise, her father opened a smile, and he approached her, and he said "Galaxia, my daughter." His tone was pleased, and it was rare to hear these days "You must be happy and celebrate, for you have been gifted with a talent very rare among our family. This power you have is a gift from the stars themselves, conceiving you the own power of the universe."_

 _Galaxia looked at him, she was not sure of what her father meant, but she was almost sure that it was something important. Turin said "A gift like that must be harnessed and protected. We will help you achieve all the potential you have, and make you worth of the wonderful gift that the stars granted you." He said, and Galaxia knew that it meant that somehow, her life had changed._

* * *

Galaxia walked past the crowd of dragons, none of them giving her a double look as they passed by, and she passed by them. For them, she was just another dragoness into the crowd.

Yes, the creatures, indeed looked very much like her and her own kind, yet, they were very different into the way of behaving. Galaxia had noticed it in the time she had watched them from the safety of her ship, and she could still see it as she walked among them into their small planet.

She passed by a couple of dragons discussing something about the price, and they were already starting to go violent. They were almost clawing at each other, as one of them was saying that the fruits he was buying were not good, and the other was telling him to pay the price and leave.

They were almost attacking each other right there in the open, and all the other dragons around ignored them. There were some who stopped and looked, but these were very few, and absolutely not one of them stopped to actually try to break the fight.

What pitiful creatures.

Not only they were savage and ignorant, as they were also totally nonchalant with the ones which were around them. Sure, if they really went violent and one of them bumped into another, then this dragon would enter the fight. Of course, that was how savage species acted. Galaxia knew it fairly well. In fact, exactly for knowing what was going to happen, she didn't even bothered into staying to watch, and so, she only continued her own way.

In her way, she passed by the riches districts of the city, and soon, she was walking into poorest parts of the city. She passed by an inn, in which she saw some drunken dragons singing out some songs, and also, some of them were puking into the side.

What a disgrace.

They were such creatures that wasted their lives into these stupid things like drinks in an attempt to elevate themselves. Looking over she even saw a group of dragons, reaunited into a circle, and she could clearly see that they were trying to hide the drugs they were using in a group.

These dragons.

Poisoning their own systems and destroying their own wealth just in exchanc/ge of a few moments of that bliss, that fake happiness and joy that they would later go to extremes to try and have again. They would end up destroyed and being a danger to themselves and everyone around them.

Galaxia continued her stroll, and soon, she was into one poor part of the city, away from the richest blocks. This part was made out most of small houses, which were somewhat close to each other.

As she passed by some alley, she could hear two voices, and a faintly moaning. She didn't even needed to think too much to know what was that.

What an outrage!

In the open!?

In the middle of daylight!?

Bah! She should not expect something else from these pathetic creatures! They had absolutely no decency, and they simply succumbed to their most savage and basic need at any moment they saw fit, as if they were wild animals instead of civilized beings.

The more Galaxia saw these creatures, the more she felt disgusted by them. She wished that she didn't needed to walk among them. She wished they could only unleash the judgment and get this over with.

She wanted to go back and forget about that planet at once, but, she knew she had a job to do. So, she kept walking. She didn't even knew what else she needed to see, for she already decided that these stupid creatures deserved no pity, and there was absolutely nothing that was going to make her change her mind.

As she walked she was soon entering into an market, and she looked around as she saw the banks around her. She saw dragons coming to and fro, minding their own business and living their pitiful existences. They barely knew that the one who would bring judgment over all of them was walking among them.

Galaxia looked at each one of them.

 _Enjoy now, savages._ She thought to herself, though she wished she could scream at them _Enjoy now the last moments of your pathetic lives, for soon, you will all suffer the ultimate judgment._

Galaxia was so focused into this thought, that she barely even noticed where she was walking, until she bumped into another dragon.

She had to regain her balance, and she instinctively looked at her holoprojector to see if it was still working. It was. Her disguise was completely normal. She would have sighed in relief, if she was not angered by this dragon who had just bumped into her.

"Look where are you going you-" she started saying, but she stopped when she looked at this dragon who had just bumped into her.

The dragon had a long brown colored cloak covering his whole body, and a hood drawn over his head. Even his horns and wings were hidden under the cloth. He was also using a white mask, which had fallen when they both bumped, revealing his face to the dragoness. It was pure black and his eyes were both crimson red, and they both looked at her.

In the moment she put her eyes into those crimson orbs, there was a reaction in all her body. Her heart started hammering fast in her chest, and her legs suddenly felt weak, and she felt a raising of her internal temperature as she could do nothing else but stare into these red eyes, all other thoughts leaving her mind.

Galaxia had absolutely no idea of just what was happening to her into that same moment, and one thing was for sure. Exedra, the black dragon in which she had bumped, was feeling the same thing, and he also didn't knew exactly what it was.


	6. Forbidden Love

There was a long moment in which time seemed to stop, and the world all around just seemed to cease to exist as the two dragons simply stared at each other. Neither of them moving, or saying a word, as they were able just to look deeply into each other's eyes, nothing else in the world seeming to matter.

Exedra could only look in the eyes of that dragoness as he felt that strange feeling in his guts, like his stomach was giving loops, and he just couldn't take his eyes away from her face, with seemed as lost into deep thoughts as his.

…

…Talk…

Say something…

Anything…

Say something!

"Hi." Said the dragoness, who looked deep into Exedra's eyes, her voice seeming somewhat lost and distant, even though she was standing right in front of him. It took a few moments to Exedra's mind register that she had talked to him, and a few more before he was able to answer with a "Hi."

And once again, that awkward silence fell between them again, as Exedra could somehow feel his cheeks heating, and he thanked the gods by his dark colored scales, with hid his blush. He groaned a little when he realized that he was blushing.

What was that?

Why his face was heating like that?

He barely even knew her!

Exedra groaned uncomfortably, as he brought his claw to his face and scratched his heating skin. It took a few seconds for Exedra to noticed that it was only his bare skin. His eyes widened as he touched his whole face with his paw, and he realized.

His mask was gone!

It must have fallen with the bump!

"Dammit!" Exedra whispered after holding back a loud curse, and he lowered his face to the ground, making sure the hood would cover it, at the same time that his paw started darting across the ground, in hope to find. His mask.

He could not be seen without it! He could be recognized! They were already spreading some papers around with his description and offering a reward for any information about him! If he was seen by anyone and if he was identified they would come for him and place him back in the prison!

Worse than that, they would most likely discover that he had help, and they would be arrested too! Exedra could not let that happen to them! Not after all they did and risked for him!

Exedra had a lot of trouble to convince Hazard to let him go out, and only because he was wearing a complete disguise, including a mask. He could not let himself be caught and risk everything right after he convinced her and Shock to let him go out. It would be like stabbing them on the back.

Exedra breathed heavily and he used one paw to pull the hood over his face as his other paw darted across the ground, trying to find his mask while he made all possible to keep his face hidden completely from sight.

Galaxia looked at the black dragon who now was hiding his face and touching the ground all around him to try to find the mask that dropped from his face. She looked at him as he did it, and she understood that there was probably a reason why he wanted the mask, and was hiding his face.

She realized that he might had a reason to hide.

Under normal circumstances, Galaxia would have pulled out his hood and exposed him truly, for he probably was a criminal. Or she would demand to know why he was so in need to hide his true identity. Or she would have at least used the chance to walk away before she got herself into problem for being close to him, and let him mind the rest of his useless life.

Now, whoever, she felt like not doing any of these things. Instead, she felt like doing something that normally she would never do to a creature that she had an impression like she had from his kind:

She wanted to help him.

She looked over, and she saw the mask, white like a bone, and laying almost forgotten on the ground. She picked it up very gently, and indeed, it felt like it was made off some kind of bone. Galaxia looked at the black dragon, who was still passing his paw over the ground into hopes of finding the mask he lost.

He seemed to be desperate to find the mask, and that said that he was desperate to hide his own face and his identity. Many would have suspected, many would have thought that he was some kind of criminal, or that was hiding. Many would have walked away from him and leave him on his own. Galaxia included. After all, she was taught not to trust into these primitive beings.

But… As she looked at him… she felt like she needed to help him… she felt like she should do it… And any other reasons seemed to be dismissed…

Somehow, after she had just met that dragon, she felt like she needed to help him.

So, she offered the mask to him.

Exedra looked up, at the blue colored dragoness who was offering him the mask he dropped. He looked into her eyes, and asked himself why she was helping him like that. After all, they had just met, yet, she was like helping him.

He could see in her eyes that she wanted to help him, and truly. Exedra hesitated a little, but soon, he stretched his paw, and he picked his mask. In the process, his bare claws brushed over the blue dragoness', and he immediately drew his paw back.

Galaxia did the same. It was not because she was afraid. She could not quite explain, but, when she felt that scaled paw bruise her own scales, she felt like an electrical current had passed over her whole arm.

For a long moment, Galaxia tried to identify just what was happening to her, while Exedra also pondered of it for a few moments, before he quickly placed the mask back on his face, making sure it was right over his face so no one would be able to see his face and recognize him.

Once the mask was back in place, Exedra finally was able to look at the dragoness, who was still looking at her own paw were Exedra had touched her. It seems like she was trying to figure out how her paw ended up in the end of her leg, by the expression she was having. Exedra could only look at her, and then, he said "Ahem."

The dragoness instantly snapped out of it and she looked at him, making their eyes meet again. Exedra was forced to look away, top avoid getting lost again in these two eyes. He was able to speak again "Well… s-sorry for bumping into you. I-it was not my intention." What he said was true, and yet, it sounded a lot more sincere than even Exedra actually expected. He could not quite understand why.

"I-its okay." Said Galaxia to him "I was distracted, it was my fault."

Where did _that_ came from?

Why was she apologizing to one of these creatures for that? And she was being strangely polite to it, even though she barely even knew him. This was not like her. This was not like what she was taught. Actually, this was going right against it. Yet, Galaxia could not avoid doing it, as if it was simply the right thing to do in that moment.

And… the blame wasn't also hers? Didn't she got distracted as she looked at the dragons around her and didn't looked where she was going and she bumped into that strange, hooded dragon?

Exedra lookd at her again, and he stod insilenmce for a few moments, before saying "Well, I-I think I'll get going. Sorry again." He said as he turned around to leave, and Galaxia, realizing this, quickly said "Wait!"

Exedra turned to look at her, as she also looked back at him.

Not even Galaxia knew what she was doing. She didn'tr knew the reason why she was feeling bad for that strange dragon going away, or why she felt like she wanted to stay near him, even after they had just met. She could not tell why the idea of getting close to him made her feel like that. Yet, she was doing exactly this.

"W-what is your name?" she asked, as if it was a natural thing. The black dragon looked at her and he said "Exedra Nightwing."

Only after these words escaped form his mouth Exedra seemed to realize that he had just done a mistake.

He had given his true name to someone! A name that would most likely help identify him if someone of the guard or who heard of the reward for him ever heard it! He had just told it to a complete stranger! What was he thinking!?

Galaxia just looked at the black dragon, who suddenly looked mortified, and then, she could only roll that name over her mind.

Exedra Nightwing.

Actually, it sounded like a nice name.

"My name is Gal-" she started but trailed off as she realized she was about to say her true name to him. She quickly recovered, and she said "Nalina Swifttail" she spoke rather quickly. She could barely believe that she had just done one thing that she was never suppose to when you were on a mission like that: give on a hint of her real identity.

Exedra looked at her, and he saw something in her eyes that looked like some short of worry, but he had no time to think about it, for he had other things to do. Also, he wanted to get away from her before she could actually recognize his name and bring trouble to him. Yet, getting away from her, somehow was a thought that pained him.

"Nice to meet you. Nalina." He said, and he quickly turned around and started walking away, leaving the dragoness behind, still a little lost and trying to figure out what had just happened.

Soon, she was back at walking among the place, back at her mission of learning more about these creatures to decide the best way of descending judgement upon them.

However, now her attention was not so focused into the creatures or they future judgement. Her thoughts were focused into that black dragon.

She even tried to stop thinking about him and focus on her mission, but, as she did, every time her mind seemed to drawn back at that black dragon. At the expression on his face. At his deep crimson colored eyes. At the sound of his voice.

Galaxia shook her head as she could not shake him off her mind, even though she was trying.

Just what was wrong with her?

Why she was thinking so much about him?

He was just another of these stupid and mindless creatures. He was not worthy of her attention or of her time, and he was going to suffer judgement along with all of them. He was going to…

Galaxia stopped on her tracks as some kind of strange feeling filled her chest as she thought about it.

He was going to die…

Somehow, this very thought was feeling her with an emotion that was very strange to her. She could not describe it, but she knew that she didn't liked it one bit. Galaxia really did not knew what was happening to her, and as the day went by, and finally came the time for her to go back to her ship, she could still not understand.

She barely even noticed her father talking to her, and asking if it had been okay, and Galaxia simply said that it was, and that she was going to need a few more trips. As she moved to her room, and she entered in there, as she took of her disguise and as she looked in the mirror, and as she laid down on her bed to sleep, there was only one thought on her mind:

She had to see that black dragon again.

* * *

Exedra sighed as he was strolling around the city. He was able to take the day off now to walk around the city and rest. Shock was happy to give him a time to himself, since he had been working for them everyday since he started being a "guest" in their house. Hazard, on the other hand, was not very happy with that, claiming that the house was going o be a mess with him outside. She had somewhat grew used to having him working for them free. Also, she came to like his cooking. Exedra ended up to be great in the kitchen.

The black dragon had back his hood and his mask, and he was sure to have all his body hidden from sight, and avoid too crowded areas. He had to be careful, for there was already some wanted posters around with a small picture of him. It was more a scrap, but it was enough for people to have an idea of what he looked like.

Exedra was doubly careful as not to raise any attention to himself and to avoid getting himself in any problem. The last thing he wanted was to get himself in a mess right now that he was hiding.

Even though Exedra was making effort to hide, he was still having time to enjoy the view of the city. He enjoyed the peacefulness of the less crowded areas of the city, where some dragons rather not waste their time. They were the less rich parts, in which there were some residences of the dragons that didn't had as much money to have big houses in the richest districts.

It was a place like in which Exedra had grew up. It was like the things he knew. The place was a bit destructed into a few places, and it was possible not the best place that someone would want to live if they had a choice. But, it was not as bad as they said in the rest of the city. Actually, this place was quite nice, it had some open spaces in the streets in which the kids could play, and there was also some trees near in which it was possible to pick up a few fruits for free. Some dragons even had their own little farms, with sheep and chickens to eat or even serving as pets.

It was very much like what Exedra had knew on his childhood, the place he had grew up with. It was nice, and Exedra liked it. He always had liked the way he lived with his family before…

Before what happened to Marah.

Before what happened.

Before his whole world crumbled down.

Exedra closed his eyes as he pointed his face to the ground, and he had to fight back tears. Maybe coming there had been a bad ide-

"Exedra." Said a voice behind him, and Exedra almost jumped out of his own scales when he heard it, for a moment thinking he had been caught. He immediately turned around to see another dragoness. It was the same blue dragoness form the day before, at the market.

Exedra took one moment to breath calmly again, and he finally was able to look at the dragoness, and ask "You…" he said, panting slightly form the scare "What are you… doing here?"

The blue dragoness did not answered, instead, she looked down, as if she was rather ashamed to tell what Exedra already had a small clue.

"Are you following me?" he asked her, and she blushed as she said "I… I just… Wanted to… apologize… for yesterday."

Exedra looked at her, and he could tell somehow that she was lying. "Didn't we already discussed this?" he asked her, not sounding angry, but only trying to figure out why she had been following him.

As if she had read his mind, she suddenly looked sad, and she spoke "Yes… sorry for troubling you." And she turned around, starting to leave. Exedra immediately regretted, and he felt a spark of despair.

"Wait!" he said, maybe a bit louder than he expected. But it had effect, for the dragoness turned to him, and they stared at each other's eyes, with that awkward silence for a few moments, and then Exedra finally was able to say "You… Would you… like to… walk a little with me? I mean, is not very good a lady like you walk around alone!" he added quickly, not wanted to have his words misinterpreted by the dragoness, who could possible think the worse of someone like him with the wrong words.

But Galaxia did not. Actually, she was quite, dared she say, happy (really?) that he had asked her to stay with him a little more. She just hoped she wasn't being watched by someone back in the ship. Luckily, her father trusted her enough to let her be on her own while she was in there.

"Sure. I just arrived in the city." She said, not afraid of sharing these information with him "I'd like to see more of it while I'm here with y- I mean, with someone who knows the place." She quickly corrected herself, and she could feel her face heating, and she was just praying to the stars that the black dragon was not going to notice.

Exedra did noticed, actually, but he said nothing, because his own face was heating and was hidden by his black scales and by his mask. He could only mumble a "Okay" as answer, and soon, he and the blue dragoness were walking side by side, looking at the city as they walked about.

They avoided looking at each other for a while, but they traded some glances as they walked, and soon, Exedra was talking a little about the city as they passed. He had walked a lot around, and he knew some points that the people who arrived should know, like some local bars and some temples, which were for praying to the gods.

Galaxia paid attention on what he was explaining, and she absorbed his words as he explained about the temples, and the places to eat and to drink. However, sometimes she got herself distracted from these words by some small things. Like the way his white teeth flashed in the daylight when he spoke. Or the way his eyes looked at her, and seemed ot almost look inside her, and right into her soul.

She got herself wondering back at when his mask fell off his face, and exposed his features at him. They were well defined and he surely was to be considered a fine specimen of a male. She remembered the details of his face and she could still tell them perfectly. The muscled muzzle that he had, and these strong eyes, and these lips, which would be very good for kissing.

Wait! Where did _that_ came from?

Galaxia found herself suddenly looking at the ground as her face was heating at a thought that she should never have about someone she had just barely even met. Even less if it was someone that was to fit in all definitions of a race that would be classified as "primitive".

Exedra noticed that the blue dragoness suddenly was looking at the ground, her face with a noticeable blush.

"Something is wrong?" he asked her, and she was a little surprised, as if she had forgot he was there.

"Wha- No! I mean, its-its nothing! Lets keep going, shall we?" she said rather in a hurry, and Exedra could do nothing more than agree with her, and show her the rest of the city.

They passed by more buildings, and soon, they were entering into the richest districts, and sure, Exedra started drawing more look as they entered into more crowded areas. Sure, it was normal that in a place like that someone would walk around with such a large hood all over the body and with a mask on the face.

Exedra flinched when he noticed that people where giving him stares and also there were some that were making the way around him as they passed by, as if they were afraid that he was a robber. Maybe coming to that part of the city had been a bad idea.

Galaxia noticed the way people were looking at Exedra, and she didn't knew why, but she got a little angry at them. Well, maybe it was because of their arrogance, in thinking they could judge someone only because the way this people was dressing. But, Galaxia knew that it was more than that. She knew because she also would find this kind of outfit very strange herself, for it made very clear that the user of it was disguised. No, it was something more in their acting that made her angry. She could just not pinpoint what exactly.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Exedra asked her if she was hungry, and he said that he knew a good place to eat, but that she was going to have to pay, since he had no money with himself.

Galaxia had a little money, indeed, money that she had been supplied by her father for any kind of possible necessities that would come from this planet. Well, now that she thought about it, eating would be a necessity. Right?

They were able to imitate perfectly the coins that were used as economic way of change in that planet. It was rather simple to use their own gold to imitate perfectly the image of a dragon's head into both faces of a plane object, as well as print the small insignia, which made the royal shield. Indeed, it was a perfect forgery, which could fool any of the creatures in that planet, since they did not had the advanced technology that would allow detecting the way the coins were made, which was the only way of finding out the fake.

Galaxia accepted, of course, and soon, she and Exedra moved away from the eyes of the other dragons, and into another part of the city. It was in the middle district, which was not as rich but not as poor, and so, it was one place in which many would come. The advantage of that district was that dragons of all kinds came in there, as well as from many other parts of the city. So, people in there were used to see some dragons with strange outfits, like a mask, or a very long coat, or even with much more jewels than the good taste would allow. So, though some people looked strange at the way Exedra was dressed, almost no one really gave the black dragon a second look.

The place which Exedra talked about was one good place, almost a bar, with the name "Silverwing", maybe it was because of the owner, who was called Dastan Silverwing. He was a little reluctant at accepting Exedra in there, by the way he was dressed, but, as soon as he saw the golden coins that Galaxia offered to him, his posture immediately changed to one of someone who was talking directly to someone of the royal family.

Galaxia would have snarled at his clear ambitious intentions, but Exedra was able to convince her to let it go, and simply take a seat. So, they both had their orders. Exedra asked to himself some roasted sheep, while Galaxia, or better, Nalina, didn't really knew what to ask, so Exedra suggested her to try on the sheep, and somehow, she accepted.

Soon their food was brought, and placed on their tables. Exedra started eating his', while Galaxia only looked at what was in front of her. This meat was different from any kind of food she was used to eating on the tables of her ship. She didn't knew what properties it could have on her physique, and she didn't even knew if she would be actually able to digest that thing once it was into her system.

Just what was she thinking?

Exedra noticed that Nalina was just looking at her food, almost as if she was doubting if she could actually eat it.

"It is good." He said, making her look at him as he offered a smile "I grant you, this place makes one of the best roasted sheep you ever eat."

Galaxia looked at him, and she fought the urge to say that it was the first "sheep" she would ever eat in her life. Somehow, looking at the crimson orbs that were his eyes, seeing his smile, and hearing his words somehow it was settling out the doubts of her mind. So, looking back at her plate, she finally decided to do something that was foolish and even illogical. She took a risk.

She neared closer, and she opened her jaws to take one small bite of the thing. She chewed it gently, letting it spread over her mouth. And it was indeed delicious. It made her remember of roasted Luguran meat, which was one of her favorite foods. Galaxia chewed with evident pleasure before swallowing up, and taking another bite, now all the worries about the food having left her mind.

Exedra smiled when he saw her eating, and he also ate. After a while, they were talking.

"So, you arrived here recently, right?" Exedra asked "Did you came here as tourist?"

The blue dragoness looked at him, and she said "Well, actually, my family sent me here to… take care of a business." Under normal circumstances she would have said that it was none of his business, or she would at least be polite and lie to him. However, she didn't knew why, but she didn't felt like telling him a lie, but she also knew that she could not simply tell him the truth. So, she stick into telling him a half-truth.

"Oh, right. It is a big business?"

Galaxia looked at him, and she spoke "Well, you can say it is VERY big."

"So your family must be important." Exedra asked, and Galaxia said "Yeah, they are important in the place I came from."

"And, where did you came from?" asked Exedra, as one regular answer. He did not expected Nalina to suddenly look nervous, and stay in silence before saying.

"From… far."

Her answer was very simply, and Exedra could easily notice that she seemed not very comfortable talking to him about that. Well, it made sense since she had just even met him, so, he let it be, instead, choosing to change the subject.

"So, enjoying your sheep?"

Galaxia was glad for the change in subject, since the talk was taking some way that she would have trouble to answer. "Yeah, is delicious."

Exedra smiled "Glad you like. This place still does the best roasted sheep."

"So, you come here often?"

This question hit Exedra hard. He hadn't came there in five years, by the time he was in jail. The first time he even set foot in that place, it was because Marah had invited him.

This brought him bad memories.

Galaxia noted that Exedra suddenly started looking sad, and he was looking away.

Had she said the right thing?

"Exedra?" she asked, making him look at her, and he said "I… I don't come here in years." His voice seemed distant, and he seemed almost to be lost all of sudden.

Galaxia looked at him, and she asked "What is wrong?"

Exedra looked at her. He wanted to say it was nothing, that it was just one thing that distracted him, or even to try changing the subject, to avoid talking about something so personal. But… he didn't wanted.

"I… used to come here… with a lady…" he spoke slowly.

Galaxia felt a stinging of something inside of her by hearing "a lady". What, Exedra already brought someone in there before?

"Oh… so, this lady… is your friend?"

Her tone was rather grumpy after that, but Exedra didn't noticed or he pretended to. He stood in silence, looking down, before he finally spoke "She died."

Only then Galaxia noticed that she had just made a serious mistake. She looked at him, and saw that there was some short of sadness in his face, some short of pain. She just realized that it was something very deep to him.

"I… I'm sorry." She said, not wishing that she could just take back her blunt question from before, by the way he was now. She didn't liked seeing him sad like that.

Exedra took a deep breath, and he said "It was five years ago." Exedra really didn't knew why he was talking about such a particular subject with someone he had just met. Yet, he felt like he could talk about it with her. He was about to say something else when the waiter came, and he asked "Any requests?"

Both dragons looked at him, and Exedra asked Nalina "Something for dessert?"

She looked at him, and she actually was glad that it came to change the subject. She was not liking to see him getting sad because of it. "What do you recommend?" she asked, trying to make up a good assuring smile.

Exedra was actually able to smile back, and he ordered a dragon-fruit pie. It where brought two slices of a big pie, one for each one of them, and Exedra eat his. Galaxia took a look at the strange food that was in front of her, and so, she decided to take another risk, and to take a bite.

The flavor was sweet and very pleasurable. It was easily one of the best things Galaxia ever ate. She finished it on two more bites, and Exedra chuckled at her "Glad to see you enjoyed."

"Yeah." She said, licking her lips "Can we ask for another one?" she had really liked this native food. Actually, it was not what she expected, since she was taught that these primitive creatures ate things that would make even the pets run away. Well, it seemed that it did not applied to that food in particular.

Galaxia ate hungrily another one, before she was actually satisfied. She would later think that the food could make her sick, but, in that present moment, she didn't minded one bit. Actually, the taste made it totally worth it. She sighed as she thought to herself if she would be able to take one of these "dragon fruit pies" back to her ship without her father noticing it.

After that, the bill was quickly paid, and both dragons got off.

"This was the best meal I had in years." Said Exedra, smiling as he walked right next to Nalina. "When I was… away, I haven't had a good food like that."

Exedra was actually being kind when he said that. That thing they served in Grahar would hardly be called "food". That thing smelled horrible, it was hard to chew, and the taste made even the lots of rats that ran over the place run away and search food among the areas in which the guards ate. You had to have a very strong stomach to be able to swallow that thing. Exedra could remember that, in the first weeks that he was in jail, he threw up every time he tried to put that thing on his mouth. He only was able to eat it after almost one month of starvation. In that moment even that goop seemed to be edible.

Exedra had almost forgot what real food tasted like, and he was more than happy to have it back. He remembered that tears came out of his eyes a few days ago, when he got his first taste of food after escaping the prison. It was a single piece of old bread that Hazard had offered to him. Yet, after years eating that thing in Grahar, it just seemed the most delicious thing Exedra had on his life.

Galaxia looked at the dragon as he spoke that "You have been away?" she asked, and Exedra quickly had to think to give her an answer.

For a moment, he considered telling her the truth, but he was worried how she would react for knowing he was an escaped criminal. He was afraid she would turn away form him and probably even turn him in to the authorities. Exedra trusted her, but his fear was stronger, and so, he said "I… went away… after my… my friend… died."

Galaxia saw that it made Exedra sad. She looked at him as he looked at the ground. Well, could Exedra have went away from the city after this friend of his' died? Well, it would made sense that, if he and this "friend", as he called, were really so close, remembering her death would be painful to him, and this city would make him remember her too much. It made sense that he would want to leave the city in for it begin too painful to stay in there and remember her all the time.

"I'm truly sorry for her…" she spoke, and Exedra sighed

"Marah." He said, sounding distant, and Galaxia/Nalina looked at him, as he said again, "Her name was Marah." He raised his head only to look at the distance "Years ago… Marah became my friend… we were both very young at the time."

They both walked as Exedra spoke that, and he continued, "She was on my side even with us being from very different worlds. She seemed not to mind where I came from or who my family were. To her, I was only another dragon who could be her friend."

Exedra let out an heavy sigh, as he continued "We would always play together, and hangout. She would invite me to go to a lot of places… like that restaurant."

Galaxia looked at the black dragon as he spoke. She was letting him speak all he wanted, even because, she didn't even knew what she could say as an answer.

"She was… a great friend… a good person." Exedra continued, walking next to her as they both little minded the other dragons around, as if they did not existed anymore, as if they both were the only living beings left in the whole town. Or maybe in the world.

"She stayed by my side every time I needed her, and she was always there for me if I was in trouble. She would always hang out with me, even when her parents forbade it. They didn't liked me very much." Exedra snorted "According to them a dragon like me was not a good company to their daughter. But Marah ignored them. She would always go out to see me, and she would meet with me hidden from them."

He looked up, looking at the clouds that floated above. "She was the first friend I ever had." He continued, and Galaxia soon noticed tears coming out from under the mask "She was… my best friend… my only friend… my dearest friend." He said, his voice becoming more and more shaken with each word that left his mouth. It seemed that he would start sobbing at any moment.

Looking at him, Galaxia did the only thing that she could think off in that moment.

She hugged him.

She neared into him, and she enveloped him with her wing, offering him her shoulder. Exedra was taken back at this, but he did not pushed her away, instead, he seemed almost to be accepting it. He leaned closer to her, and he fought to urge to bury his face on her shoulder, searching for her warmth.

Instead, they both only kept like that, almost resting against each other as Exedra was choking back a few sobs. For someone who was passing, they would almost look like a couple who was in a date. But, both dragons little minded what others were going to think.

Galaxia was only thinking into giving support to that poor dragon, whom she barely knew, but who was clearly suffering.

And Exedra, was only thinking into searching support in this dragoness, whom had just met him, but who was willing to give him her shoulder for him to cry.

It felt almost unnatural to be so close to someone you have just met, as if you were old friends. Yet, for the two dragons, it made not a single difference. They actually enjoyed being so close to each other, and it somehow felt like the needed it.

Galaxia felt that she should comfort Exedra now that he was sad. Like it was her duty to help him in this moment of weakness and to give him support. Even though she was lying to him about many things. She felt like she could trust him to be close to her, no mattered what her father had taught her.

And Exedra, he felt really comfortable for having someone who wanted to help him, even though they barely even knew each other. He felt very comfortable around Nalina, and he felt like he could trust her. She made him feel safe, just like Marah used to. Exedra didn't felt so good around someone since her, and this dragoness, she just made him feel safe. He could not explain why. He even felt bad for being hidden the truth from her, but he was still afraid that telling it was going to make her go away.

For a long moment, they both remained together, with Exedra resting his face in her shoulder and letting few small tears escape and land on her gently. They both felt really good for being so close, like they were giving each other strength.

It felt strange that they felt good around it each other. But they barely minded. They felt good, and that was all that really mattered at the moment.

"I miss her." Exedra whispered after a long moment of silence "I miss her so much." His voice sounded hurt, and Galaxia could feel it. She just knew that Exedra was feeling hurt and that he needed support. So she was giving it him in the form of soothing words.

"I'm sorry for it."

Exedra breathed, and he seems to finally be starting to recover.

Having someone near to her out his problems was something new to him in the last five years. No one ever bothered asking him how he felt or hearing about what was bothering him back in prison. Tops, he would receive laughs and someone ordering him to "shut up" and be told that if they wanted to hear his opinion they would ask.

It had been difficult in there. He couldn't talk to anyone, no one would support him in any way with his problems, so, in that dark and cold cell, all that was left for Exedra was to cry silently all the times. He hadn't cried for a while since he was in Grahar, three years, actually. After a while crying, it seems that you just don't have tears anymore.

Well, at least it was what Exedra thought. These tears were different form the others, because now, there was someone in there to dry them for him. Someone who was willing to listen to him. This made a whole world of difference now.

Breathing deeply, to calm down the last of his nerves, Exedra finally was able to talk calmly. "Sorry for dumping it on you like this."

"Its okay." Galaxia said to the black dragon, and she smiled.

That smile made Exedra feel good for seeing it. As if this smile could make all the troubles disappear. He smiled back, and he could feel his face heating again. He looked away slightly, and the dragoness continued.

"It must be really painful to lose someone you hold dear." She spoke to him "I think I would not be able to handle it."

Exedra sighed deeply "It is always painful to lose someone." He looked at her as he said that "Sometimes it is so hard that you feel like you can't move on. It is like a part of you is ripped out, and you feel incomplete."

He looked deeply into her eyes as he spoke that "Some people are not able to deal with it, and then, some really end giving up everything."

Galaxai looked back at these crimson orbs, as they looked at her. They were so beautiful; she barely even noticed that their faces were becoming closer and closer by the second. "It happened to you?" she asked.

"Almost." He said, looking in her eyes and approaching "It felt like they had ripped my heart from my chest. I felt lost. I was sinking, and I really felt let I should just give up and drown." He was so close to her now that he could see the reflection of the light in her beautiful eyes.

"But… I realized that she would not want that." He spoke, and he continued to look in her eyes, while she looked back at his' "Somehow, even if it was hard, I needed to keep living, and move forward. But, I admit, I was unsure of how to go on."

Galaxia looked at him as he spoke that. "You are not anymore?"

Exedra looked at her, and he approached more "I… I don't know… how to answer…"

And then, he close the rest of the distance, and his lips touched the dragonesses. She barely even minded, and they both closed their eyes and enjoyed the feeling that consumed them.

For a moment, the whole world around them seemed to cease to exist. There was no longer city, there was no longer prison, nor world, nor guard, nor problem, nor grief. There was only them. They existed apart from everything else, and the only thing that really mattered was the feeling.

The feeling exploding and burning inside their chests and spreading to their bodies, as some kind of sweetness and happiness passed from one to the other, as if they were sharing one single heart at that moment. It was the only thing that mattered there and then, their feeling, and each other.

Nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed to them.

They were on their own world now.

They enjoyed the electric feeling that their lips caused when they touched each other. They enjoyed that sweetness that they were sharing. They enjoyed the kind of shared feeling that was going on between them. They enjoyed every single second of their kiss, before realization of what they were doing came back crashing at them.

Their eyes opened, they both broke the kiss, and they just stared at each other's face, both too shocked to say or do anything. They just stared at each other, both unable to form coherent words, or even to think right for a few moments.

Finally, they both looked away, as their faces were heating so much that, for a moment, they seemed to the point of igniting. Exedra was the first to find his voice back, and he quickly was apologizing, well, trying to, since he was stammering to much.

"I-I-I-I'm s-s-sorry!" he almost blurted out, and the words seemed to be coming form his mouth almost in a cascade, as he tried to say a lot of things at the same time. He barely was comprehensible, and Galaxia could have helped him, but she was stammering as much as him.

"N-no! I-it was t-totally my f-fault!"

They both stammered for a few moments, before a deadly silence fell between them. For a long moment, none of them dared to raise their eyes and look at the other, each one too shocked to do so. Not with the other for kissing, but with him/herself for kissing. None of them was like doing this kind of thing, so, they didn't understood why they did.

Yet, they had done. And the strangest thing: they felt totally good because they did it.

The silence persisted for a while longer, and then, Galaxia said "S-so… we really did…"

"…yeah…" was Exedra's answer. He did not dared to look up to meet her face.

"It was… something…"

"…yeah…"

The silence came back, and after a few moments, Galaxia finally asked, stammering a little "You… liked it?"

The question was totally out of place, and it surprised Exedra so much that he raised his eyes to look at her. She was blushing furiously, and so was Exedra, though his mask and his dark scales were perfectly hiding it. She was looking right at him, waiting for his answer.

Exedra took another moment to find his voice again, and he finally said "Yeah…" he didn't even thought about what he was saying, talking it without reflecting about. He thought for a moment of taking it back, but, he realized that he did not wanted. It was the truth. He had indeed liked the kiss, and the blue dragoness looked at him, and she said "Me too."

They looked at each other's eyes for a moment, before they both leaned forward, and soon, their lips met again, into another kiss. And this time, it was deeper, and they took longer to break apart.

* * *

Exedra just unlocked the door, and walked inside, his gaze was slightly lost. He walked sindie, and almost dropped the cloak behind himself along with the mask.

"Ah, you are back." Said Hazard, looking at him "Well, took you long enough. You need to clean the house and prepare dinner."

Exedra looked at her for a few moments, and he said "Okay…" and he simply continued walking away, with a dumb smile on his face and a lost gaze. Hazard simply looked at him strange as he walked past her, and Shock also looked at him as he passed by him.

The two dragons shared a look, and Hazard asked "What happened to him?"

Shock looked over his shoulder looking at the going black dragon. He looked back at his wife, and he smirked as he said the following "Well, I might not be completely sure. But, by the look on his face, I think I have a small clue."

* * *

The sliding doors of Galaxia's room opened, and the purple dragoness walked inside, now having let go of her disguise and she simply let the things she had taken with her fall into an nearby table, before walking to her bed, and letting herself fall over it.

She deeply sighed as she laid on her back in the bed, staring blankly at the space.

She was now trying to convince herself that what had happened that day had really happened.

And it had.

She had really did it, and she had liked.

She could practically hear her father's shouts of anger if he ever came close to find out, if he ever even dreamed about something like that.

Curiously, this no longer scared Galaxia as much as it did before. Her mind was too busy thinking about other things. Like the sweetness and warm that came from Exedra's mouth. The strength and the gentleness that came from his voice. The shine that came from his ruby-colored eyes.

Every time that she thought a little more about him, it only made to increase the warm feeling on her chest.

Now, Galaxia had some good idea of what was happening to her, and she was accepting it amazingly well, by her own standards.

If someone had told her that a few weeks ago, she would not have believed. She would have said that this one was crazy. By the stars, she would likely have been violent with said person. She thought it would be totally impossible, inconceivable, even. Yet, it had happened. It was true, and the feeling inside of her was more than enough proof. To her.

Smiling softly, Galaxia could not help but to think to herself, as she basked into that wonderful feeling of happiness and warmth inside her chest.

 _This was not the way I thought I was going to fall in love._


	7. Galaxia's Rebel Ways

Galaxia had truly never imagined that she would fall in love like this. Yet, against all odds, it had really happened.

That first meeting was only the start. By the next weeks, Galaxia had went back into the planet to meet with Exedra. These meetings were the kind that she often ended up fantasying about, and would often get lost in thought thinking in the next time they would meet again.

There was time that Galaxia actually wanted to simply sneak into the teleported and go hidden to the planet just in hope to find Exedra. But she knew that, if she did it, it would most likely raise suspicions to her family over her true reasons. As well as it would if she stayed more time than it was predicted for her to spent on that planet, as she had wanted to be more time with Exedra.

So, the purple dragoness had to limit herself to stay with the black dragon the most time it was possible without anyone noticing she was doing it. She was once again very thankful that her father trusted her enough to let her go down in that planned without being under vigilance of someone.

It was good, because Galaxia knew that she and Exedra could have the time alone all for themselves. And this time was used for then to talk a lot and to do all kinds of things together.

Most of time they simply talked, telling each other about their dreams and about their goals for the future. Soon they were telling each other details about their families. Of course, Galaxia was always subtle when talking about them and about her past, and she could notice that so was Exedra, yet, she was being totally honest with him, and she had absolutely no reason to believe that Exedra would not be honest with her.

It was very hard to explain, but, she simply had a feeling that she could really trust him, and she somehow knew that he trusted her too. Of course, he was still hiding something from her, but, aside of that, there was absolutely nothing that made her think that he would lie. And else, she too had things she was hiding from him, so, like her, he most likely would have a very good reason to do so.

Besides talking, they also spent a lot of time going out in places together. Sure, Galaxia still didn't knew the city pretty well, so Exedra had became her official "touristic guide" while she was in there, taking her to all kinds of places around the city, form the old temples to near the castle (though she noticed that, every time they came too near a crowded area or somewhere near the castle the black dragon became all nervous and he made sure that his hood could hide his face all the time).

They talked about lots of things, and they laughed together and they talked about all kinds of things. They talked about their past experiences (never being too reach on details, of course), they talked about some aspirations they had, talked about the city and about how beautiful it was (at least Galaxia was starting to think it a little more beautiful since she started meeting with the black dragon), overall, about all things.

Exedra had a talent to make her laugh with some jokes and some stories that he told about his old neighborhood form before he went "away" as he had told her. He told her about a lot of things, like about his family, but he never gave any names, and about the neighbors who lived near him, and about the kinds of things he saw around his street when he was younger.

Galaxia simply had no idea that some old and poor street like that, in a primitive planet like this one, could have so much amazing stories. Some of them she had actually some trouble believing, for some of them were very good. She would never imagine that an old panther that lived in the end of the street, into an old decayed house, would have been a great warrior on his own tribe, who had been exiled by an old enemy after losing to him into a battle. Nor that the dragoness that passed everyday by the streets could been mother of ten hatchlings and yet have two jobs and use all she had to raise them for them to have a good life.

Galaxia was soon learning that in that street there was much more than the eye met. And not only in there, but in a lot of places.

Exedra soon was telling her a little about the rumors that traveled in the underground of the city. Like the ones that said that there was a bunch of dragons who acted as secret assassins for the government, eliminating the enemies of the kingdom who came hidden in the city. And also, there was stories about another secret group, one that had permission to fully spy and follow every member of the city in search for any kind of threat to the piece of the kingdom. Exedra himself was not sure if some of these stories were actually true, he just knew that he had heard them.

Others, however, Exedra was pretty sure that were true, for he heard them from "secure sources" or even had seen it himself, as he claimed. Like the secret place in the market that could lead you to any kind of forbidden material, like drugs and some stolen things. And also, the secret set of tunnels that were underneath the city and that, according to what they said, could lead you to almost anywhere in and out of the city, if you knew how to navigate inside that maze of tunnels.

Galaxia was simply amazed with just how many stories could be found in a place like that, if you bothered to look deep enough.

Of course, seeing this, spending time with Exedra, and knowing him better, was starting to go against much of what Galaxia had been told on her previous days.

Not to mention the contact she was having with the other natives themselves, besides Exedra. Of course, the people from the richest districts were always rude with Exedra, and they usually worried more about themselves than about the others, and they only cared about others if they belonged to their own little circles.

However, walking through the less rich districts, they met a handful of people which were far more gentle. Like some of the owners of local stores that gently offered then a few items, and seemed not to become rude when they didn't bought it. Or the gentle people on the street that kindly gave then information. Or the families walking on the street, that showed how much they cared for each other and were willing to protect each other from harm and danger.

Galaxia was having a lot of contact with these individuals, and of course, it was leading her to start mistrusting what she had already been taught.

She had always been taught that the primitive kinds were always going to be primitive and savage, and that it was a rule that applied to all of their integrands. However, her time walking in that planet, and looking it through Exedra's perspective, was starting to show her that there were exceptions. A lot of them. And so, it was putting into doubt at least part of what she had ben taught.

Galaxia even tried to discuss it with her father, and his answer, you can already guess.

"Foolishness." He said, just a few days ago "If a civilization is savage then there is no reason to believe that it would have to be spared only because of a few individuals." Was his answer "We must destroy any kind of civilization which represents danger to the rest of the galaxy and make sure that they never cause damage."

His tone was almost of reprobation at Galaxia for even bringing up the possibility of maybe going against their tradition. However, this time, not even his words or his harsh tone could make her change her mind. Galaxia had saw it with her own eyes, so, she knew that at least part of what she had been taught could not be completely right.

She sighed as she placed her disguise back, and she walked out, carrying a little of supplies and more golden coins with her.

She had just passed by the sliding doors when one of the robot guards met her, and it said, on its mechanical voice "Miss Galaxia. You father wants to see you."

Galaxia looked at him. She knew that Exedra wasmost likely waiting for her, and she didn't wanted to make him wait. "Tell my father I had to go doing the patrol again." She said to the robot "I'll talk to him when I'm ba-"

The robot, however, didn't let her finish "It is not a request." It said in mechanical voice at her "You father is _demanding_ to see you for an important discussion."

Galaxia felt her blood run cold inside her veins. She knew that her father usually demanded things when he was very angry or concerned. And he was demanding to see her. This could not be a good thing for her. Galaxia knew very well that she had little choice in the matter, for declining it would probably anger her father even more, and to demand something from his own daughter, her needed to already be very angry.

So, after a few moments, Galaxia looked back at the servant, and she nodded, agreeing to see her father. The servant then showed her the way.

Along the way, Galaxia could not help but wonder just what would her father want to discuss up with her so badly. Maybe it was something regarding her behavior in the previous days? Or maybe it was something about him worrying for her safety in that planet, being so long in there without protection of anyone else? Would he start sending bodyguards in disguise with her? That would surely make more difficult to meet with Exedra, and she would have a hard time explaining it to him…

For a moment, her thoughts trailed with Exedra.

What if…

What if her father had find out about him?

What if he found out about the black dragon and he was going to do something about it himself?

For a moment, a spark of pure horror formed on Galaxia's heart as she imagined just what her father could possibly do to the black dragon.

However, this worry soon disappeared.

If her father had truly discovered about Exedra, the first thing he would have done would have been storming into her room demanding for answers, and he would like to face her when he got them. He would probably never be calm enough to send a servant after her. So, considering what was going on, Galaxia could not take that as her main theory.

Still the fear that this one would might prove to be true still lingered in her mind, haunting her thoughts as they walked past the hallways and in direction to the next sliding door, where Galaxia knew that her father was waiting for her.

When they were close, Galaxia felt a tight knot on her throat and a weight on her stomach, as her legs seemed to become stiffer and harder to move around. She knew that whatever was waiting for her in there, most likely had to do with what was going on with her in the last weeks.

And that was more than enough reason for her to worry about. She felt a dribble of sweat dripping form her eyebrows, and her heart was hammering fast. Galaxia mustered her courage, and she stepped forward and the sliding doors in front of her slid open, as the gates to whatever fate was waiting for her on the other side.

She was once again in the room, the same room she had been weeks before, and in which she was given her mission of bringing judgement to that primitive planet. And now, just like last time, she felt slightly anxious. Only that, this time, it was much stronger, and it was tempered with a good amount of fear.

Fighting the urge in her chest to turn around and run away, Galaxia finally was able to make her legs, which seemed to be made of the strongest metal, finally move, and start taking her forward.

Each of her steps echoed into the room, and bounced back at her, as her claws tapped into the metal floor. After a while, that felt like an eternity to her, she was coming closer to her father's throne.

She could not see his face, as he had his back at her, but she noticed the way his wings shifted lightly as he noticed her approaching. Galaxia knew that it was not a good thing. Each one of her instincts was telling her that she was in danger and that she should leave now while she was still having the chance.

Galaxia, however, kept walking forward, and she stopped when she was at less than a dozen meters from the throne. After a moment of silence, she bowed her head, and she said "You wanted to see me, father?"

There was a moment of silence, before Daglax spoke, his voice very serious "Yes, I have." He finally tuned around, and looked at her daughter. If Galaxia had ventured to look up, even for a brief moment, she would have seen her father serious like she had seem him very few times in her life. "There is a matter of the utmost importance that I might discuss with you."

He started climbing down the stairs to his throne, his steps echoing over the silence of the room, and making it seem even bigger. His gaze did not diverged from Galaxia, as he spoke "It is about your mission on that planet."

Galaxia felt her blood running cold as the steps were coming closer at her. Dangerously close. The steps stopped very close to her, and she heard her father's voice saying "Your mission… It is taking more time than it should be."

Galaxia knew he was right.

Finding the best way to bestow judgement should take only a few days, rarely more than a week. Yet, Galaxia had been going there for almost two weeks now. It was far too long for a simple mission that involved not much more than scanning the area and discovering the best fitting punishment for the inhabitants of a planet.

Daglax' voice came back, and it sounded very serious "I sorry that I must ask, but, there is any particular reason that the mission is taking longer than it should?"

Galaxia knew that lying to her father was the worst possible of all ideas, but she also knew that telling the truth was totally out of question. She choose her next words very carefully. "I met some... unpredicted situations." She said, hoping it was enough to satisfy her father on the specific matter.

"Were you attacked?" he said, in the deep of his voice, Galaxia could detect something that sounded like worry.

"No, sir." She said quickly, remaining respectful "I wasn't in any immediate danger. I found some… interesting variations in the behavior of the creatures."

Daglax remained silence, so Galaxia spoke again "I have seen some interesting way in the way they behave. So, I had to observe a while more."

"You should have reported." He said to her, and she bowed her head a little more "I know father!" she said quickly "But… I observed them for a while and…" there was a long silence, as a lot of thoughts passed by Galaxia's mind all at once. She finally raised her head, and looked at her father in the eyes, and she asked one specific thought that had already been on her mind for a few days now "Father… They really deserve the judgement?"

This was a thought that had came in her mind days ago, when she and Exedra had just fared goodbye for the day, and she was just on her way back, and it was a thought that had plagued her mind in the following night and prevent her from having a completely peaceful slumber.

Exedra was nothing like they had described someone from hat planet would be. He was gentle, kind, funny, and he was very smart and caring. He was a very sweet person and he was quickly able to catch her attention.

He didn't seemed like someone who deserved to receive judgement.

And, it was not only that. It was all the stories he told her about his previous neighborhood. It was the stories about dragons who struggled to live an honest living, and they all who cared for their families and their neighborhood. They just didn't fit in the description she always had from the savages in their primitive planets. When she thought about it, she thought that they didn't 't deserved to die.

They truly didn't. Galaxia had thought about it for a while, and now, she finally had the guts to say it, in the form of a question to her father, but which was carried with a whole lot of meaning behind it.

Galaxia didn't knew how to expect her father to react. Of course, he would be surprised at her. Confused at her question. And after that, the most likely reaction would be anger for her questioning the way things were done. Yeah, Galaxia was expecting a whole speech about the importance of it, or maybe even a tirade, to remember her of the importance of he mission.

Her father, however, looked at her for a few moments, his expression unreadable, as if he was evaluating her. After a few moments, he let out a heavy sigh, and he then said, his voice more relaxed now "I was afraid that this could happen."

Galaxia looked at her father for a few moments, confused, and Daglax diverged his look from her "I knew you were still too young to this, and you would be susceptible."

"Susceptible to what?" She asked her father, not understanding what he was talking about. Daglax only sighed, and he said "These primitive creatures can do that sometimes." He looked away from his daughter, but his tone was more present than ever "They have a way to mess with our beliefs and to make us doubt the truth."

Galaxia only looked at her father as he continued "Some say it is because of their strong passion, and others that it is because of their primitive minds and their way to hold on onto life. The point is, they can sometimes make us not see the truth."

"I myself had felt something similar the first time I went on a mission like that." He said, finally in the eyes again "I know full well that these creatures can convince us of their innocence even when they have none. They can seduce us with their passionate ways, and diverge us from our path. I know how they can be efficient in it, I almost have fallen for it once."

Galaxia looked at her father, unsure of what to do or say now. That was what her father thought? That she had been "seduced" by them and was now not seeing things clearly?

Well, it was true that she was in fact caught up with Exedra, and that has changed her ways of seeing things. However, she didn't felt like she was being seduced into believing a lie. "But father." She said, looking him in the eye "What if there are still some real good ones in the planet? What if not all of them deserve the judgement?"

"Only a few enlightened individuals are not worth the risk of putting many other planets in danger." He said sternly at her "We do what is necessary for the good of many more."

"But what if we made a mistake?" she asked, feeling bolder and bolder as she was having an argument she never thought she would have with her father "What if we are wrong about they deserving judgement or not."

"You have walked too much among them." Daglax said to his daughter "They have infected you with their way of thinking. You are totally under their charm."

"No, I'm not!" she said, now not even thinking about what she was saying, or the way she was talking with her father "Father, I have walked among them, and I saw and heard a lot of things, I'm not sure if they deserve it!"

Daglax let out a snort at his daughter, and he turned around, but had not finished yet "I have seen another side of them! I have seen that they have family, and values, and that they _can_ care for each other!" she talked as her father walked back to his throne "Father, I know more about them now! I don't think they deserve to die! Maybe there is still hope for that planet! They are not that evil!"

"Oh, they are not!?" Daglax said, turning to his daughter, his expression somewhere between worry and anger, and it had made Galaxia flinch "Let me just show you one thing!" he said as he picked up something form his throne, and brought it closer to Galaxia.

It was some short of device with a crystal in the center, with a console with a few buttons on it. Daglax pressed a few buttons on the console, and soon, the crystal started glowing and it projected as few images.

"A few days ago, this dragon killed his own father in order to receive his inheritance, and he killed his own brothers to make sure that he was the only heir!" he said as the images flashed over the projection, and Galaxia flinched when she saw it. Then the images changed.

"One week ago, during one of your ground missions, this bunch of dragons attacked one dragoness and stole all her money in order to buy themselves drugs. She reacted, and in return, they killed her and left her among the trash!"

Galaxia felt sick in the stomach for seeing this, and not too after, the images once more changed "Just yesterday, this one dragon killed two kids of other species, and he simply walked away! Some even saw him doing it, but no one tried to stop him, and he simply walked away and no one cared on what he had done. No one!"

The images finally stopped, and Daglax looked his daughter deadly in the eye, and he said "Now, can you tell me again that they do not deserve judgement?"

Galaxia knew perfectly well what was her father's point. She knew that it was hard to argument with these things. She knew that there was no justification for these horrible acts other than a very primitive and savage way of living. However, she was still sure of what she said. The memory of Exedra, that nice shadow dragon, was still on her mind, and she was, somehow, sure of the goodness in that world, even if it was small.

"Not everyone is like that." She said in answer "There are good creatures living in this world!"

Daglax snorted, and she continued "I know that there are savage creatures in there, but, there are also others, some who are truly good, and who deserve a chance."

"Oh, really?" he father asked, coming dangerously close at her "I have one more thing to show you." He said, and he pressed a few buttons in the console, and another image came from the projector, and formed what seemed to be a primitive poster form that planet.

In the poster, there was a writing saying "Wanted Dead or Alive. Reward" and right under it… Galaxia felt her blood freeze on her veins, as the image showed in there, was a picture of a black dragon that was awfully familiar to her.

"Do you see this dragon?" Daglax asked, failing to notice the expression on his daughter's face, or simply not caring, most likely it was the former "He is a dangerous criminal who recently escaped from the local prison of that city you have been visiting."

"He broke free form there by unknown means, and during his escape, he almost killed a bystander who was in there for a visit."

A criminal… Escaped from the prison…

Galaxia looked at the poster, as she was looking at a ghost.

Could… Could it be?

It would explain…

"And you know why he was arrested?" her father's voice made her snap out of her self-induced trance and look at him, she never saw him so serious before, and he continued "Five years ago, he murdered a dragoness who was about your age."

Galaxia felt her heart skip a beat, and her blood seemed to be freezing in her veins.

Murdered?

No.

No, it… it could not be right!

"He played off as her friend." Her father continued, but he noticed that Galaxia suddenly was not paying attention anymore "Look at it!" he said sternly, making her recover, and look at the poster again.

"He approached her and he pretended to be her friend." He continued, looking at Galaxia as she looked between him and the poster "He met with her for a long time, until she finally trusted him enough to give him a key to her home. On one night, her parents went away for a meeting, and she was left alone in their house."

"In that moment, this dragon used the key to get in the house. Once in there, he attacked the dragoness. He spanked her so much and with such violence that she died, but not before having many broken bones and severe internal bleeding. He was found by her parents hours later, when they came back and found him laying by her side, in a puddle of her blood!"

No… it could not… could not be true… She didn't believed… she… she refused to believe…

"When the local authorities took him in, and they asked him why he did it, he only said that he 'loved her'. Now tell me." He approached her, and he asked, as she stared at the hologram of the poster "Do you think a world which has a being able to do such a thing, does not deserve judgement?"

Galaxia was barely even hearing him. She just stared at the poster, at the dragon in there, at that muzzle and the face and horns that she came to know. The face that in which her moments with, only brought her peace and safeness. The face that had a smile and crimson colored eyes that always made the world seem brighter.

"This is the representation of what this world has." Her father spoke to her, as he saw her staring at the poster "This dragon, called Exedra Nightwing, is an example of what kinds of creatures live on this world."

* * *

Galaxia was walking among the streets of the city, lost and don't knowing exactly where she was going. She was confused, and sad, and she felt somehow betrayed. She didn't knew where to go or what to do.

She still could not believe it.

She could not believe that Exedra, the same dragon who was so nice to her, and who had always been able to make her smile and see the best on others, was a cruel murderer. She could not believe it.

However, everything was pointing to this conclusion.

The time that Exedra had said that he had been "away" was the time he had been in jail. The time the crime was committed and he was arrested coincided well with the time he said it had been. The young dragoness who was murdered…

Could she… be the one… Exedra was… talking about?

Galaxia remembered the way Exedra became when the dragoness named Marah was brought upon. The way he reacted, the pain on his voice and on his face. She could not believe that he was a criminal.

Yet, all the logic was pointing to this conclusion. And Galaxia was taught all her live to never doubt logic.

Yet… the logic was pointing to a conclusion that she just could not accept. Something that, even seeming to make all and perfect sense, was just something that did not seemed right to her.

She could not believe it.

She _refused_ to belive. Exedra would never… he wouldn't…

She was so congfused right now. She wanted anything to come and take away all her doubts. Someone to come to her and tell that it was all a mistake, a misunderstanding and that they werte completely wrong, and that the Exedra she knew would never do such a horrible thing like that.

Yet, it was exactly what the facts were all point towards. She was so confused. For the first time, she was thorn between her mind and her heart. She didn't knew what to think, or what to do. She barely even knew where she was going, until she noticed that now she was almost in the meeting point with Exedra.

She looked up, and she saw him, on his cloak and mask, and waiting for her into a corner, as if to stay away from everyone's eyes, except hers'. He was looking around, and looking at the sun. She knew that it was past the time they had agreed upon, for the talk she had with her father shaken her in a way that she lost any track of time, and she had been wandering in the street for quite sometime.

Actually, she didn't even knew how exactly she ended up going to that direction, of the same meeting place they had agreed to meet in the previous day. Maybe it was some deep part of her mind that wanted to go in there and to meet him, and this part somehow guided her to there.

But, the thoughts she had earlier that same day, of happiness for seeing Exedra dna being able to stand by his side again… They were still there, but, there was also that strange sense of fear, that maybe her father's words were true. That maybe, under that nice attitude and that kindness, could hide a dangerous and cruel murderer.

However, she still refused to believe it. She could not accept it. She could not accept that Exedra would be able to do these horrible things. This was so unlikely what she had seem from him until now, from what she had learned from him. She just refused to believe that it could be truth, unless Exedra himself told this to her and, maybe even then, she would still not believing it.

She just knew it.

Exedra soon met eyes with her, and he smiled behind his mask, and waved to her. She smiled, and waved back, though it was not as enthusiastically as the previous days. And soon, she walked to him, all her doubts and fears still raging on her head all at the same time.

Exedra smiled when he saw her coming in his direction, and he could feel his heart swelling inside his chest as he saw her coming closer. That dragoness… there was just something about her that made him so happy. He felt like he already had knew her his whole life, and that she trusted him and that he could trust her back. He felt like he could tell her anything. And each day that passed, he believed more and more in that.

They finally came close enough to greet each other with a nuzzling "Nalina, I was waiting for you." He said happily at her, and she smiled, and gave a weak "Yeah."

Exedra noticed that she seemed somewhat sad, and he looked at her. "Nalina, there is something wrong?"

She looked at his face for a few moments, and she looked at the ground "No."

Exedra didn't buy it, and he asked again "Nalina, there is a problem, there isn't?"

"No, no." she said, and she looked at him again "Is just that… I had a arguing with my father today."

Exedra looked at her, and he knew almost instantly that it was the truth. Yet, he felt like she was not being completely through with him. However, he decided to respect her space, and he simply asked "And, you are okay?"

She sighed, and she nodded at him, and he was able to smile "Great, there is a place that I want to show you."

* * *

It took only a few moments, before they were somewhere in the middle of the city. Exedra was risking too much to be seen by someone who would suspect him and his strange "outfit". However, he insisted to take Galina there, for it was a place that everyone who visited the city should see, specially in the day that they were.

Exedra explained to her that, every month, in the day first day of the month, there was a show in that part of the city, of music and water.

Galaxia understood the part of the music, but water?

Exedra simply smiled at her, and he said that she would understand once the show had begun.

Soon they arrived and the place was some short of makeshift lake, something between a small lake and a fountain. There was water jumping out of some tubes around it, and there was an group of musicians of all kind in the other extreme of the lake, and they all were arranging their instruments.

Exedra took her to a spot he had found, which was far enough to avoid the looks from others, but, at the same time, it was near enough for them to watch it without any problem. He sat down next to her, and he told her that, if she needed anything, she could ask.

Galaxia only smiled and nodded at him, and she resumed her own thoughts.

Exedra was really a murderer?

Murderers did not acted like what he was acting with her. He was so nice and caring, and he was always so worried about her, and wanted to make her happy.

She remembered what her father had said about him having pretended to be the friend of that dragoness until she trusted him. And than he…

Galaxia looked at Exedra, who was looking around, almost as if he was sure that no one would see him.

Could he be pretending?

Could he just be pretending to like her in order to get what he wanted?

But… Exedra didn't made any attempt to do anything for her in the past weeks. He had not make any advancement, he didn't touched her in any way that would be considered inappropriate, and he never asked anything from her, nor to see her house, nor to have money or for her to make any favor to him.

It just didn't fit.

Thinking that Exedra could be a selfish killer just didn't fit with the impression she had of him. It just didn't combined with his way, which, despite being strong and somewhat maybe even hardened, was still gentle and kind.

She looked at him for a while, and he finally said "Look, is about to start!" as he pointed at the other side of the lake. This made Galaxia snap out of her daze and look at the direction he was pointing to.

Soon, the musicians were starting to play with their instruments, and it was a rather beautiful music. Well, until then, she saw absolutely no difference from a normal music show.

However, as soon as the music got into a crescendo, something happened with the parts of the lake that shot water. Suddenly, the water started to shoot higher, and make arcs over the lake.

This took Galaxia by surprise, and then, the music continued, and the water started to jump from the lake in rhythm with it. It was almost as if the water itself was dancing along with the music.

And the music continued, and the water jumped from the tubes in harmony with it, bouncing in the water and spraying itself around, as the dragons who looked at it were all amazed with such a display. Galaxia could not help but look completely admired at the beautiful show that was going on in front of her.

She had never imagined that water could be used along with music to create such a wonderful thing. The way it moved and jumped almost made it seem that it had a life of its own. It was truly amazing. This was one more thing she learned about this world in her time with Exedra.

Meanwhile, the black dragon smiled when he was seeing this with her. This was one kind of thing he had missed in his time in prison. In fact, being able to see the monthly show of the Dancing Waters was the kind of thing that made you wish to see it again and again. Exedra knew it pretty well, for it was too beautiful. That was why he wanted Nalina to see it, for that was the thing about the city that, if you visited, you could not go back home without seeing.

"This is amazing!" the dragoness said as she watched the waters jumping according with the tempo of the music. It was really quite a show, and Exedra could ot help but smile for seeing her so marveled.

"I knew you would like it." He said to her, he himself enjoying the show "Anybody likes it, specially on the first time seeing it. Sometimes this place gets so crowded that some dragons have to hove above the place so they can get a good view of it. I remember that the first time I came here there were so many dragons that it was almost hard to walk around them. Yet, I was very glad that Marah brought me here."

As soon as he said that, his expression suddenly saddened and he looked away. Galaxia also stopped it and paid attention to the black dragon who was right by her side. He looked sad, she could tell it even from behind his mask. It was strange the way she seemed to have such a connection with him, and yet, it seemed just natural for her to know what he was feeling.

She disliked seeing him sad, and it was clear that he became like that every time that Marah was mentioned. Her father's words came back at her head now that she was reflecting about it.

A dragoness who had been murdered.

Galaxia looked at him for a few moments, for a moment, forgetting about the show that was still going on. Noe it didn't seemed so important.

"Exedra." She said to him gently "Can I… talk to you about something?"

The black dragon looked at her, and he nodded. She then took a deep breath, and she said "Exedra… My father… he is… worried about me, for this… city, is very dangerous. Well, at least it is what he says."

Exedra looked at her, wondering what was her point in it. He wanted to tell her that the city was not so bad, but, before he could, she continued.

"And this morning. He showed me one thing." She said, suddenly she seemed to go in a darker mood "It was a poster of a wanted criminal, who escaped recently from your local prison."

Exedra felt his heart drop and his blood run cold. It was like his worst fear coming to life in front of him. She knew.

"This dragon was arrested five years ago, for murdering a young dragoness." She continued, and she looked at Exedra. The black dragon suddenly got up, and he was turning around, as if to leave.

But, before he could, he felt a paw gently grab his shoulder, and he looked over, to Nalina. She looked at him, and she did not looked angry or scared with him. Instead, she seemed almost to be worried.

"Exedra." She said almost in a whisper "What happened? Five years ago?"

He looked at her for a few moments. There was a huge confusion about what he should do next going on inside his mind. Part of him wanted to sit down and tell that he knew nothing about it. Part of him wanted to scram from that place as fast as he could. Part of him wanted to sit with her and tell the truth. Part of him wanted to broke down crying, for he knew that he could possibly lose her. Part of him wanted to scream to the heavens in anger.

Yet, part of him was touched that she seemed to at least want to hear his side of the story. In the past, no one wanted.

Looking at her, Exedra sighed, and he sat down. Soon, he was talking to her, and telling things that he had told other people so much time before, and they disbelieved him so many times., that he had finally gave up telling again.

He told her about Marah, and about the friendship they got. He told her about how she gave him the key to her house for an important meeting (the subject of said meeting was left unsaid). He told her about how he got in the house and found the door already open, and Marah badly beaten. He told her how he stood by her side to the end and how, when her parents arrived in her home and saw him there, they immediately had assumed that he was the responsible for that.

Exedra told her all these things and he noticed that, by the time he went talking, it almost felt like he was taking a weight out of his shoulders. It was almost like there was some kind of poison being taken away from his heart and, by the time he was actually done telling her everything, he noticed to his own surprise, that he was feeling far better.

For a long moment, Exedra just looked down, at his own claws, while Galaxia looked at him. There was a deep silence between them, as Galaxia could just wonder what she should say now. Actually, she was wondering even what to think.

She didn't knew if she could really trust the story he had just told her. It was almost too amazing to be true. Yet, she wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe that Exedra had been wrongly accused and that they were all wrong about him. She wanted to believe that he was a good person that would never really do the evil to someone else.

"And… they simply arrested you?" she asked him after finally finding the words again "They simply assumed you had done that?"

Exedra sighed, and he said, his voice devoid of any kind of emotion "I was just a boy from a very poor family." He kept looking at his own claws as he spoke that "I was from a poor district, from the kind of people that no one trusted into. And they found me in their house without them knowing I would be in there, right by the side of her corpse…" Exedra made a pause, and he took a few gasping breaths, as if to hold back tears.

"Of course they would come to their own conclusions. After all, they never approved their daughter making friends with someone like me." He said, and he snorted what sounded somehow like a laugh "Yeah, I guess that they were just waiting an excuse to thrown me right on jail, where they thought was my place." He then saddened "But, I'm sure that they did not wanted to lose their daughter for that."

Galaxia looked at him as he spoke that. She didn't knew what to say now. She wanted to say kind words to him, to say that it was okay, and to comfort him in any way. However, she just could not find any word that would be good enough to comfort the black dragon.

The silence among them was only broke by the sound of the melody that was being played, in a crescendo tune. Exedra raised his eyes, and he looked at the waters that danced in the rhythm of the music. "Marah brought me here for the first time ten years ago." He said, sounding very distant, almost dreaming "She said that it was a think that I should see, and that I would love… She was right."

Galaxia looked at him as he spoke that, and she could see the small tears perking from his eyes "She was not like her parents, or the rest of the people from where she lived. She didn't cared for me being born poor. She never judged me for that. For her I was just another dragon who could be her friend." His voice was starting to become shaken "She was… the first friend I ever had… She was… the first person outside my family who cared for me." He was starting to lose it, as it was becoming harder and harder to hold back his tears.

Galaxia noticed it, and she moved near, forgetting all her worried and her doubts, and simply embracing him. This was just in the right moment that Exedra broke down in sobbing in her shoulder, his tears falling down on her as they were far enough so no one would notice their closeness.

"They simply assumed I had killed her!" he said, sounding utterly outrage "They assumed it because I was from an 'untrustworthy individual'! They never even gave me a chance to try to explain myself! I told them many times that I didn't did it, and they only kept me asking why I had done it!"

He sobbed in Galaxia's shoulder, as the music continued playing, muffling the sound of his crying and of his confession from the dragons and other individuals who were all too far to hear it. Galaxia was the only one who was close enough to her what the black dragon was saying to her, and to hear it above any music, which seemed to little care to her right now.

"I loved her." Exedra said between sobs "I loved her. More than I ever loved anyone before. I would never hurt her." He sounded deeply hurt that people assumed he had done anything bad to Marah. It was clear that she had meant the world and more to him "And the worse part." He said to her, being able to control his crying "The worst part is that the ones who truly did that just got away with it!"

His last sentence was let out with a huge tone of anger. He cried more, his tears staining Galaxia's shoulder.

She said nothing. She knew that she should say nothing. That no words would ever be able to ease the pain that the black dragon was feeling for such a loss. That now, the best thing she should do was to simply stay silent and to hold him close. To let him know that she was there for him, and that she was on his side. That was the best thing she could do now for him, and she just knew that.

And it was the right thing, for soon, Exedra's crying was diminishing, and soon, he was just laying against her shoulder, while the music continued. After a while, he finally said, in a quiet voice "Thank you." He was so quiet that she almost didn't heard him, but she heard the second time "Thank you, for giving me a chance, Nalina." His tone seemed sincere, and she smiled at him, and soon, they both were looking on each other's eyes.

Galaxia once again got lost in that crimson eyes, as all the things vanished. There was not her father's advices. That was not people's opinions about Exedra. That was not the wanted posters, nor the accusations, nor what her father would ever say, or anyone else, by that matter. There was only Exedra, and there was only him as they both closed their eyes and inched closer to each other, until their lips met into a deep and passionate kiss, filled with the sweetness and the caring they had for each other. The whole world seemed to vanish around them, leaving only the music, soft and tender, which flowed all around them.


	8. Galaxia's Banishment to the Dragon Realm

Back on the ship, Galaxia was very subtly walking across the hallways.

The rest of the day with Exedra had gone rather quickly, since being with him had erased all of her fears and doubts about his character and about his personality. She knew deep inside that he would never do these things they said, and she believed deep inside that he was the nicest person she had ever knew and that he would never hurt a innocent.

The day had passed rather quickly, and soon she was back at her ship. As regular, she hid the information of her father and the others about what exactly she had done down there. And so, she resumed walking to her room.

However, later on, as she got in there and she finally got rid of her disguise, assuming her regular purple coloration, her doubts and fears started coming back. The doubts that maybe Exedra could be pretending, and that maybe that story was all a lie. The fear that5 maybe her father was right and that maybe trusting Exedra was really a mistake.

Of course, she told to herself that it was all wrong, and that Exedra was a good dragon. Yet, this did not diminished the fear nor the doubt, which lingered strongly all over her mind each time she started to lower her defenses.

After a long time, Galaxia was finally having enough of her doubts. She needed a conclusion. She needed a way of knowing once and for all who was telling the truth. She needed it to finally have peace in her mind, no mattered what she was going to discover, or who was right or wrong. She just needed a closure to all of the doubts that haunted her.

And she was going to get it that same night.

But… how to do that?

She didn't knew who was actually telling the truth, and the thing she wanted to know happened years before they arrived in the orbit of that planet. It there was no way of actually knowing what had happened down there so long ago.

Unless…

* * *

Galaxia took a long time to convince herself to do it. She knew that if she was caught she would been into a situation very difficult, starting by explaining why she had caught the postcognizing crystals.

These were a very rare kind of crystal, which had the amazing proportions of bending slightly the tissue of time over itself, and make it overlap itself. As a result, it allowed to see a projection of things which had happened in the past, almost like an holographic projection which allowed to see backwards in time.

These crystals were amazingly rare of finding out there, and their lifetime diminished each time they were used. Not only that, but to be used, they required a great amount of energy, almost more than it was needed to make their whole ship work. That was why they were only used in moments of extreme need.

Always with the authorization of Galaxia's father. And anyone who didn't did that, would be in serious trouble.

That as Galaxia took a lot of time to convince herself of taking them. She knew that her father would not take it lightly, even coming form her. She knew she had to take them hidden, and she could not simply go to her father and ask what went, for it would raise more questions.

Well, this part was already done, and now, the next was to work on the monitoring system of the ship, which allowed it to see the parts of the planet it was above, which, at the moment, was the city in which Exedra was born and raised. Which was good.

She was able to, in her talks with Exedra, discover in which house Marah used to live with her parents. And less than an hour ago, she was able to connect the monitoring system with the holosimulator.

Galaxia knew that what she was doing was risky. She took all the precautions that she was not caught. She reconfigured both the monitoring system and the memory of the simulating room not to recall what she was going to do. Yet, she was pretty sure that one single, small mistake, would be enough for her to be caught, and that there was going to have no explaining this if she was.

She would be deep in trouble, and her father was never going to simply let it pass. He was going to demand answers, and he was not going to stop until he had them.

Yet, since she had already came that far, there was absolutely no way that he was simply stopping and backing away now. She already came to this and she wanted to know the truth. No matter how painful it was going to get.

So, standing in the outside of the holosimulator, Galaxia entered the last configurations into the main controls, as she pressed the holographic buttons into the console. She sighed, as the last things fell into place.

She looked at the crystals she had brought, orange in color and glowing softly. She walked in direction to a small pedestal, and she placed the crystals in there. As she did it, she also closed her eyes, and focused force on her chest, and soon, she was letting out a small star, which shone above the crystals.

"Close main lid and connect alternative power source!" Galaxia said, and soon, a lid was closing above the star and crystals, and a loud humming was heard. The miniature nuclear fusion was going to provide all the energy that was needed to the crystals and the holosimulator to work without alerting the rest of the ship that there was something happening.

At least that was what Galaxia hoped.

She shook her head. It was no time for fear now! She had came too far already to back away. She needed to go to the end, and to the end she was going!

So, with that done, Galaxia walked in direction to the doors of the holosimulator, and the doors opened to her. Once again, she walked inside that same room that she had got in many times in her past to train and hone her abilities and natural gifts, and to learn how to fight and protect herself.

But now, she was there for a very different reason. She was no longer a young dragoness who needed to know how to fend for herself in some strange and dangerous world. Now she was an adult dragoness who needed answers and who was going to get them at any cost.

She was in the middle of the room, and she looked around to the white room around her, and she took a deep breath. She was going to find out the truth now. All the instructions had been previously programmed by her in the outside consoles. The specific time for the crystals to show back, the specific location to be recreated. Now, for the start of all, Galaxia raised her head in direction to the ceiling, and she talked aloud "Initiate reconstruction! Run flashback!"

Immediately, the rom around her started illuminating as the mechanism behind it started working at full force. The white light enveloped the whole room, and soon, more lights were appearing over the white light, all of them spinning around as the dots of light mixed with the chronal particles generated by the postcognitive crystals.

Galaxia wasn't even sure if this idea was actually going to work. But if it did, she would probably become known in the whole system for having invented a new way of using the crystals. That if she was not condemned for treason.

The lights danced around her, spinning and they seemed to be somewhat confused. They were taking far longer than normal for working, and the room seemed sometimes to tremble as the systems seemed about to falter. Galaxia was soon starting to wonder if she had made a mistake and if her idea had been a bad one.

Thoughts of the ship's energy faulting and making the whole light and the survival systems fail haunted her head. The thoughts of the consequences of this not only for her, but now, for the whole ship, started dancing across her mind like an strong guilty-trip.

Galaxia was about to order the simulation to stop, when the lights around her started stabilizing, and then, they were starting to form shapes. Soon, the image of a house was forming around her, and the house was slowly being formed by several dots of light and data and of tachions, the particles that travel through time.

It took almost one minute, but after a while, the image seemed to finally stabilize, and the light subdued, to show Galaxia the house she was in now. It was clearly a house form someone who lived in that planet. It was very luxurious, though. There was beautiful paintings on the walls, and there was even some statues around. The place seemed to be the one of someone who was rich. Just like Exedra had told that Marah was.

"Okay! I'll be careful! Have fun!"

This voice behind Galaxia almost made her jump, as she turned around to see one dragoness closing the door. She was probably her age, maybe a bit younger. This dragoness was Marah. Galaxia knew it because she was exactly like Exedra had described her: pink colored with golden horns, white underbelly and wing membrane and golden eyes.

Indeed, that young dragoness really was beautiful.

As soon as she closed the door, she let out a huge sigh, and she walked over. Galaxia stepped out of her way as she past right by her as if she had not seem her. Galaxia knew that it was only a simulation. That what she was seeing now was an echo from a distant past, and was unable to see her or interact with her, as well as she was unable to interact with it. The past was the past, and it was impossible to change it.

The young dragoness walked into the nearby hallway, and Galaxia wasted no time in walking after her. Galaxia was inside the house now, a projection form a past. And if she wanted to know what was happening, she had to follow Marah, in order to be in the same room as her and know just what had happened.

She followed her past the hallway, and into two rows o=f stairs, and followed her to inside a room. It was a great library, with several books on several shelves all over the place. Really, it was a big library.

Galaxia wondered just what she was doing in there. Wasn't she expecting Exedra? Why she was in the library? Was she getting a book to read while she waited him?

Galaxia followed Marah as she walked among the shelves, and she even flew a little to reach for the higher ones. She seemed to be checking the titles one by one, and she stopped in one, and she picked one of the books.

Galaxia expected her to come down now that she had got herself a book. However, the pink dragoness continued to flying low among the shelves, looking for something else. And so, she got a second book, and a third, and so on. Soon, she had to come down with five books, all of them seemed to be thick and heavy. And so, Marah started walking again among the books, as if she was still searching.

Galaxia looked at her as she was looking for books. She looked over the books, which were on the floor already. Galaxia knew that she could not touch them in any way, for the properties of the projections of the crystals did not allowed the images to be manipulated. All she could do was look. And so, she looked at the books, and she took a look on the first one, a heavy-looking book, with lined words on the cape which read "Magic Legends of the Dragonkind".

 _What is this?_ Galaxia thought to herself. Why was this dragoness picking books now? She was going to show them to Exedra? She thought they were good and that the black dragon could like seeing them?

Galaxia looked at Marah, as she was picking up two more books, and she walked with them on her claws, and she placed both of them on the pile of books. Galaxia could see the title of each new book she got.

The first one was called "Ancient Magic", and the other one had a title of "Stories of Magic Dragons."

Galaxia could not help but wonder why she was picking up these books. Too bad that she could not ask to Marah directly, otherwise she would want to know just exactly why she was picking up so many books. It was obvious that neither she nor Exedra would be able to read them all, for they were far too many, and they were all too big.

Marah looked around, and she sighed to herself "There are so many books in here." The dragoness spoke to herself. And she looked back at the pile she got "Well, if we don't find the answer in one of these we can just come here and search for more."

Answer?

Galaxia looked at the dragoness, now really wanting to ask her what she was talking about. She and Exedra were wanting the answer for something? Well, Exedra never really did talked what he was going to do in Marah's house. He was somewhat subtle in relation to thaty, and Galaxia remembered having asked it more than once.

She could only look a the dragoness, as she tried to raise the books from the ground, and she struggled under their weight as she tried to carry them downstairs, and she was making some progress.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound coming from downstairs. It seemed that it there was someone in the lower floor.

Both dragonesses looked down, and Marah put the books down as she had been able to go down with them by one set of stairs already, and the sound had come directly from the living room.

"Exedra?" Marah asked to herself, and Galaxia looked at her, as she had followed the pink dragoness since upstairs, in the library. "He arrived earlier." Marah said, and she walked down in direction to the first floor, and Galaxia only followed her.

It was really Exedra? That was the thought that had come into Galaxia's mind. And if it was, then what would it meant?

She walked right behind the pink dragoness down the stairs, and into the hallway, as they could hear someone in the living room. "You arrived earlier." Marah said aloud to whoever was it as she and Galaxia both turned the corner "I was expecting you only in a few…" but her words trailed as she saw who it was, and so was Galaxia. And it was not Exedra.

This dragon was indigo-colored, very thin, and was around the same age as Marah. He had silvery horns in his head with curved backwards and light blue underbelly. His purple colored eyes were widened and fixated in Marah.

Galaxia could only look at this dragon, or else, the echo of the dragon, and she could not help but wonder who the heck was he. Her answer came as the dragoness Marah said "Galen?"

"Marah?" the indigo dragon answered as he stared at her, and then another voice came "Who is this?" and it was another dragon, this one yellow colored with black underbelly and wing membrane and with two black horns with projected forward form his head. He had grey eyes, and they fixated on Marah.

"Nizin?" Marah asked him, and she stared at both, as they looked back at her "What are you doing in my house? My parents are not here."

"Why are you here?" The yellow dragon, Nizin, said, almost as if he was accusing her, and he turned to the dragon Galen "You said the house would be empty!"

Galaxia looked at them, and back at Marah, who was looking at them. Suddenly, there was the sound of something being dropped to the ground and breaking. Marah jumped, and she looked over, to see what was it, and so did Galaxia, and she saw yet another dragon. This one was a bulky one, and very muscled. He had sand colored scales all over his body, and two big curved horns and a strong muzzle. He had just broken up one of the statues of the house, and now he was looking at the remains of it, as if he was searching for something. He grunted, and resumed looking around.

"Who are you?" Marah said, and the bulky dragon immediately turned to her and locked his eyes with her, which where completely black. In the moment she saw these eyes Galaxia felt a chill run down her spine, as if ice had been inserted on her veins. There was something wrong with that dragon. Galaxia could feel it just by looking on these eyes. They were strange. And it was not only the color. The look they had. It was cold and heartless. It was… It was terrifying.

The sand-colored dragon looked at Marah's direction "You…" he said, in a deep voice "You… should not be here." The way he talked that sent more shivers down Galaxia's spines, and she knew immediately it must have done the same with Marah. The dragon could not see her or touch her in anyway. Galaxia knew perfectly well that, yet, she was scared. The dragon was not even looking in her direction, and yet, she felt scared of him, and she was almost ready to launch an attack at him.

One look at Marah could confirm that she was indeed afraid, as she recoiled slightly and she gave one step backwards. The dragon Galen stepped forward, and he said "She was supposed to be out with her parents! I didn't knew she would be here, I swear!" he said, as if he was trying to apologize with the sand dragon.

Marah looked at the indigo dragon, confusion clear in her face. And Galaxia was feeling the same way. Just what was this all about? What was the point of it? Who were these dragons? What were they doing in there?

"Galen, you know him?" Marah asked to the indigo dragon, who looked at her for a few instants, and then he looked away "And why are you here?" she asked "The key my parents gave you is only for emergencies!"

"W-well… Marah… I mean… you see…" the indigo dragon tried to explain while Marah looked at him, however, before he could finish, the sand colored dragon stepped forward and he grabbed Marah by the neck, making he gasp.

Soon the pink dragoness was holding his claw with her own two claws, trying to make him let go. However, the bulky dragon only looked at her with these black eyes. He bared his teeth and hissed as he approached her face, making Marah look away.

Galaxia could only watch in fear. If she was Marah she would have been scared the hell out of her mind. There was just something about that bulky dragon which seemed terribly and utterly wrong.

The dragon had his face near her, and he snarled, making Marah whimper in fear. Then he let her go, actually, he practically threw her at the dragon called Galen, and he said "Don't let her escape!" and he turned back to the house.

Marah squirmed, but she was held down by the indigo colored, and also by the other, who was called Nizin, they both made an effort to held her down, and to keep her on the ground, so her effort was fruitless. Galaxia felt a sudden urge to help her, before remembering that any intervention would be totally useless. Anyway, her attention was quickly diverged when she heard the sound behind her.

She turned to see the dragon opening some drawers and looking inside. He removed things of them, some purses, and he looked inside. Galaxia could see some sparkling of gold and jewels on his claw, however, the dragon snarled, and threw them away, some of the precious gems broke when they hit the stony floor. He looked inside more drawers, and he found only more things, like coins and some precious stones, but he threw them away, and he seemed to be getting madder.

"What do you want?" Marah asked "We keep the gold upstairs!" she said, hopping it would satisfy the scary dragon. However, he ignored her, and he started walking around the house, pushing the mobile out of his way, as if to see if there was anything hidden behind or under them.

Galaxia only looked at him as he did it. This was not a simple robbery. She knew it. The dragon was rejecting things that were clearly valuable, like jewels and gold, almost as if they were simply trash. He wasn't after this. He was searching for something very specific. But, what would be it?

The dragon soon was starting to get ticked off, as he started throwing the furniture aside, displaying great strength, at the same time that he made a considerable amount of noise. Galaxia was actually surprised that no one was hearing it on the outside. The dark-eyed dragon soon was also using his claws to tear the furniture open and shove his claw inside, as if he expected to find whatever he was searching for inside of it.

"What do you want?" asked Marah again "Why are you doing it?"

The bulky dragon snarled "Make her quiet!" he grunted loudly as he turned his attention to the walls, and started taking the pictures out of them, as if to see if there was something hidden behind.

The two dragons seemed to obey him, as one of them put a paw over Marah's mouth, muffling her voice. "Marah, stop!" he said to her in an urgent whisper "We are just after something in here! We will get away as soon as we find it!" Galaxia was luckily close enough to hear "So, if you just let us search, and later you keep quiet about it we can-GAAAH!" he suddenly screamed as Marah bit hard on his paw, enough to drawn blood.

Marah quickly got up, and she darted in direction to the door, aiming to escape. Galaxia barely registered what happened next, for all she saw was a sand-colored blur passing by her and landing in Marah, making the dragoness cry out. The bulky dragon now was just over her, snarling as saliva leaked from his open mouth over her.

The pink dragoness kept squirming, flailing her limbs, when the bulk dragon seemed to lost his temper, and he grabbed one of her wings, and twisted hard. A sickening cracking sound was heard followed by a pained cry from the pink dragoness. Her wing had been broken. Galaxia felt immediately sick of her stomach by seeing this. The way the wing was bent showed some kind of fracture that would have made many others drop in complete pain.

Marah, however, seemed to not be like the rest, for she quickly moved her paw and hit the sand dragon in the face, hard enough to make him stumble, and she used this chance to get up, and to run inside the house. The dragon, however, quickly recovered and went right after her, drooling in anger.

Galaxia remained stunned for a few moments, until she heard a painful cry coming from some other part of the house. She immediately snapped out of her stupor, and she ran to it, right after the two dragons, who dashes forward.

There was more sounds, each followed by a loud cry of pain. They followed it till the area that was the kitchen, and in there, they saw the bulk dragon over Marah, and he was beating her. At each time she tried to move, he brought his paw, clenched on a fist, right over her body, be it her chest, her belly or her face.

"What are you doing!?" Galen said, completely terrified as the dragon was attacking Marah. Galaxia too was scared by this show of senseless aggression. The bulk dragon kept spanking Marah, even after she stopped resisting, and the sound of bones cracking was heard when he hit very hard into her chest. It was the sound of her ribs being broken.

Everyone on there was completely immobilized in shock, and after a few moments, the bulk dragon finally stopped hitting, when Marah now was barely moving or making a sound as she was hit. For a long moment, he just stood there, over her beaten form, panting slightly, before he looked at the two dragons who were with him.

He grunted, and casually let go of her, and left her there, barely even breathing, and he passed by the two dragons, who quickly got out of his way. "Help me search." He said as he walked back at the living room. The yellow dragon even tried to approach Marah, as if to see if she was still alive, but the dragon's voice came from the living room "Now!" this made both he and Galen to flinch, and they quickly went after the bulky dragon.

Galaxia stayed behind, just looking at Marah, the poor dragoness. She was just so beaten, and she seemed to hurt, and she also seemed to be feeling so much pain… Galaxia could not help but be sorry for her. She wished she was there. She wished she was in there for real, so she could help her.

However, this was beyond her reach. This was an echo of something that had happened, something that once existed, and that was not anymore. There was nothing she could do, other than to look at her. The pink dragoness, even tried to move, but each time she did, she was able only to move her body a few centimeters, and then fall back into the ground, whimpering.

Galaxia felt terrible sorry for her, she felt such compassion for her, and admiration for the spirit with which she was trying to move.

Galaxia was snapped out of her thoughts by the loud sound of something being broken in the living room. She gave one last look at Marah. She didn't wanted to leave the poor dragoness alone. Yet, she knew it would be useless to stay by her side, for she had already dies five years ago, and her echo wouldn't even notice Galaxia's presence. Yet, Galaxia felt a weight on her heart as she left the dying dragoness behind.

She found the dragons back in the living room. They were breaking some statues while the Galen one was taking off some pictures of the walls and looking behind them, they were even moving the furniture and still opening it and searching inside. Even the foolest of fools would notice that they were indeed searching for something.

But, what was it.

As Galaxia wondered it, the yellow dragons suddenly screamed "I found it!" and Galaxia barely had time to turn her head to look when the yellow dragon was shoved aside by the bulky dragon. He landed with a thud, and as he recovered, Galaxia could hear the sand-colored dragon saying "Yesssss." It was almost a hiss, and it was filled with some kind of satisfaction that made Galaxia's heart thump faster.

She started approaching the sand dragon to look what was it, when he suddenly stuffed it in the bag he had been carrying around his neck, and he said "Now we leave." And he walked to the exit, and soon, the two dragons were walking behind him, the one known as Galen saying "Hey, hey! You will do what you promised, right? We did our part! Hey! I'm talking to you!"

And soon, all three dragons left the house. And Galaxia was left alone, into the projection of what had once been the house. She looked at the place that the yellow dragon had just stood minutes ago, and she approached it. She looked into the thing that was the nearer, and it was some short of statue. By the shape of the pieces, it probably was the depiction of some dragon. It had been broken, and at first glance, Galaxia noticed nothing wrong with it.

However, into a closer inspection, she noticed some short of shape among the pieces, a shape that was not from the outside of it. It took only a few minutes of ponderation for her to realize that there was something hidden _inside_ the statue. And there was absolutely no doubt that this was what the dragons were looking for.

But, what was that which they had taken? What was worth all of the effort they have made? What could have made that sand colored dragon use these other two to break into a house and search for it, destroying everything that was on his path to find? What could be valuable for that dragon to leave behind jewels and gold as if it was nothing? And how did he knew that it was in there, if it was clear that there was not an entrance point in the statue?

Besides, for having no clear point of entrance it lead to conclude that whatever was into the statue had been put in there in the moment the statue was actually being made, and had been hidden in there ever since. But, what was that? And why would someone hide something inside a statue?

For safety, of course. But, what would be so important that it would need this level of safety? And what the statue was doing inside the house?

Galaxia passed so much time wondering this that she didn't noticed time passing. She was suddenly brought back to the reality when she heard a very familiar voice saying "Marah?"

Galaxia's eyes widened when she heard that male voice. It was younger, but it was still unmistakable. She quickly turned around, and she saw a familiar black dragon walking inside. He was clearly younger, and was definitely less muscled, but there was absolutely no mistake that it was him.

"I think someone forgot to close the do-" he said, but he trailed when he walked inside and saw the state in which the living room was. His crimson eyes widening, and once again, Galaxia found herself caught in these red orbs. Exedra had five years ago the same thing that he had now that just caught up her and made her feel weak on the knees.

For a moment, she even forgot that Exedra could not see her, and she was about to talk to him, as he looked all over the floor and the destroyed furniture. Suddenly, he came in a halt and his eyes widened aa his features turned in the purest and most absolute horror.

"Marah!" Exedra suddenly called out, looking around frantically, and running in direction to Galaxia. He went past through her. This Exedra was just an echo of something that had happened long ago. He had no influence over the present, just as Galaxia had no influence over him.

Yet, Galaxia was a bit taken back as Exedra passed through her as if he was a ghost. She looked around and saw him running around the house, screaming aloud "Marah! Marah! Are you there? Marah!?" he called out as he run around the house crying out for her. He was desperate, like Galaxia had never ever seen him before.

"She is in the kitchen." She said to him, seeming to have forgotten that he could not hear her. "Marah!" he cried out again, and Galaxia repeated "She is in the kitchen."

If Galaxia saw anyone else do what she was doing, talking to an echo like that, hoping that the past would be able to miraculously hear the future and this way change itself, she would laugh at the person. Now, however, she was not laughing at it. She was doing exactly it, as her best knowledge and instincts were bested out by the wish the help Exedra, to help him as he seemed so desperated.

"Exedra, she is in the kitchen." She said, walking near him, and standing right on his side as he breathed heavily and in short gasps, as he looked frantically to all sides. Suddenly, he stopped, and he looked around one more time. He remained still as he seemed to be listening, and soon, she heard something, it was barely a whisper, but she was sure she was hearing it "Exedra… help."

"Marah!" Exedra suddenly cried out, making Galaxia jump "Marah! Where are you!?" He breathed heavily as he said "Marah! Keep talking!" he said, shouting as if he was mad, and looking all around, walking in circles as he followed the barely audible whisper which Galaxia finally recognized as Marah's voice, calling for him. After a few moments, he finally found his way to the kitchen. And the next thing Galaxia heard, was a desperate cry.

"MARAH!"

Galaxia jumped again, and she immediately went into the kitchen, and she entered right in time to see Exedra crouching near Marah _._ _"No. No. No, no ,no, no!" he said to himself as he was kneeled right by her side. Galaxia approached in time to hear Exedra say weakly "Exedra…"_

 _Exedra was panting heavily as he looked at her, he raised his head and he said "Help! There is someone hurt in here! help!" His expression was more disturbed than Galaxia ever thought she was ever going to see it. He barely even seemed that confident dragon that she had came to known._

 _He looked at Marah, who spoke weakly "Exedra… my… wing…". The black dragon looked at it, broken, and he said "Y-y-your wing." He seemed about to have a breakdown "I-it is not that bad." It was a total lie, but Marah only smiled weakly at him, and she said "You… are… a terrible… liar…"_

 _Galaxia could only look at this dragoness, who was able to smile even in a moment like that. However, her attention was focused on Exedra, wo was still looking scared and desperate at for the poor dragoness. He looked her up and down, all her wounds and her bruises, and he screamed again "Someone help!" And soon, he turned back to Marah, and he spoke gently "Marah. Marah, talk to me." As he cleaned a strand of blood from her face. The attacks of the sand-colored dragon left wounds which were worse than Galaxia thought at first sight "Marah… I-its okay…" Exedra said, seemingly more to himself than to the pink dragoness "You are going to be okay."_

 _Marah simply smiled at him, and she said quietly "I'm glad you came." This probably was supposed to calm Exedra down, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. "Oh, Marah, I'm so sorry! I should have come earlier!" He said as he looked positively guilty, as if he could have done something to prevent it from happening. However, Galaxia felt glad that he didn't, for he would have fallen victim to that bulky dragon. The way he moved and his strength, and the look in his eyes. All that was completely unnatural. "Marah. What happened?" Exedra asked her._

 _She looked at him, and she spoke, her words broken by her pain "I… heard someone… going in…."_

 _"They broke inside?"_

 _"No…They… didn't… broke the door… they… had… a key…" this surprised Exedra, as Galaxia could easily notice "I… thought… it was… you…" Suddenly the most absolute horror coated Exedra's features, as he said "Marah! I kept your key with me all times! I didn't even told my parents about it, I swear!" he sounded so desperate, as if he was trying to excuse himself, he seemed about to cry. Galaxia felt a huge pain in her chest for having to see it. It felt so bad seeing Exedra like that._

 _Marah smiled at him, and she said "I know… I know… you did… not… you… would never… do this…I… knew them… my parents… gave… the key… for… emergencies…" This seemed to tranquilize Exedra, but it soon ended as she coughed up some blood, and said "He… was… so… strong… the one… who… did… this… to me…"_

 _"Marah, Marah, don't talk now." Exedra said, and he raised his head again, and he shouted o top of his lungs "SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE!" He breathed heavily, and he waited for someone to answer, but the answer never came. And once again, Galaxia felt the urge to help somehow, once again almost forgetting that it was something that happened long ago, and that there was absolutely nothing she could do about it._

 _"Marah, I'm going to find help!"_

Exedra said, and he was about to get up and leave, when Marah said "No…" Exedra looked at her "Stay… stay… with… me… please…" Exedra looked at her, and soon, he knelt by her side, and he used his claw to support her head, resting it gently "Marah, is okay, is going to be okay." He said to her in a shooting manner, and once again, Galaxia could see how much Exedra actually was gentle.

Marah smiled at him, as she said "I… had… a good life… I… lived… fully."

"Marah…" Galaxia said, he seemed about to cry "Please, stop talking like that." Galaxia looked over the pink dragoness as she understood it. She knew she was going to die, it was the kind o f thing you could sense in yourself. She knew she would be dead before Exedra could return with any kind of help. She didn't wanted to die alone, so she asked him to stay with her in her last moments.

"I'm… very… happy. That I… found… a friend… like you…" Marah spoke to the black dragon with a kind smile on her face. "You… have… been… the best… friend… I could… ask for…"

"Marah… no." he said, tears rolling down his cheeks, and she smiled at him, as she said "Thank you… thank you… for… being… my… friend… thank you… and… goodbye..."

Right after these words, she closed her eyes gently, and after a few moments, the movements of her chest, caused by her breathing, slowed down, and then, they stopped. In this moment, Exedra's eyes widened, the tears still falling form them.

"Marah…" he said shaken, and he nudged her body gently "Marah… Marah… no… please… no." he said, barely able to contain himself, and finaly, he raised his head and let out a loud, pained cry to the heavens, louder than any sound Galaxia had heard him make till now.

After that, he broke down in crying and sobbing loudly. He dropped by Marah's side, almost cuddling with her as he cried. Marah had such a peaceful look, despite the violence that she suffered and the pain she surely was feeling. She was smiling softly while Exedra was breaking down in sobbing right by her side.

Galaxia didn't how to name the feelings which were inside of her. For one side, that there was the admiration for Marah, for she was able to say goodbye to Exedra and die smiling, even with all she passed. She felt sadness for Marah for having died like that. She felt sorry for Exedra, who had lost someone who was very dear to him.

"Marah…" the black dragon said between sobs "I love you."

Galaxia looked at him as he got close to the body of the dragoness who was victim of the three dragons who broke in her house. He would stay by her side for the following hours. And then, her parents would return home, and they would find him by her side.

And they would take their own conclusions.

Galaxia now knew. She knew something that she had needed to be sure before, but it was something that she somehow already knew, something that she somehow was already sure far before this:

That Exedra had told here the truth. That they were wrong about him. That he never had hurt anyone. That he simply was in the wrong place in the wrong time. That he was arrested unjustly and he payed for someone's else crime.

He was innocent.

A whole new wave of emotions came across her mind. She felt sorry for Exedra for having to pay all these years and being labelled as a murderer when he never did anything wrong. She felt ashamed of herself for having ever considered that someone was nice and gentle as Exedra would be able to do something so horrible. She felt indignated for Exedra have been taken to prison without any chance of defending himself. And above all, she felt angry at Marah's parents for thinking the worst of Exedra.

How they dared? How they dared simply assume someone was good as Exedra would do something like that only because he did not belonged to their own definitions of what would be an "honorable citizen"? Exedra was the nicest person ever! And he would never mean harm to absolutely no one! And they simply attacked him, and they assumed the worst of him just because he was different from them! Because he was not raised and not acted like what they were used to! They simply labeled him and judged him only for being different! Just like…

Just like…

Just like her family had done many times.

Just like they a lot of times in the past had judged other civilizations and decided that they did not fit in their definition of some which would give some good civilizations in the future.

They had judged them and killed them.

How many of them were not actually that bad?

How many of them had among them some individuals like Exedra? Individuals which could be better than the rest and could actually mean the chance of a better world and a better future? Individuals that ended up brutally killed like the rest of their people only because the rest of the society was not like them?

A new feeling invaded Galaxia as these thoughts, thoughts she had stopped having long time ago, came crashing back at her. The feeling started in her gut and went up to her chest and to her neck, making she feel lack of air and feeling her chest heavy and like a sudden and powerful weight had been added to her shoulders.

Guilt.

However, she barely had time to think about it, for in this moment, the whole scene freeze around her, and them, everything started dissolving into dots of data.

"Huh?" Galaxia mumbled to herself. She had not ordered the simulation to stop.

She looked around as all the ambient around her dissolved in data, and the rom son was being enveloped into a white light. After some moments, everything had disappeared. And soon, there was only the spinning data around her, which slowly vanished into nothing more than white light, and soon, she found herself back in the middle of the simulator.

For a moment, she wondered what had happened, when she heard the sound of the doors opening, and she looked at it, only to feel her heart skipping a beat.

Walking inside the simulator, was the very familiar shape of Turin Daglax, and he looked really, really unamused.

* * *

"What were you thinking!?" Turin shouted at his daughter, who was sitting right on the foot of his throne, his wife was right on his side, and there were some guards near too.

Galaxia only knew that she had never seem her father so angry before in her life. Yet, somehow, he just didn't scared her as much as he used to. Yet, she flinched at every argument he made, due to the power he carried behind his words.

"Do you have ANY idea of how dangerous and imprudent was what you did?" he demanded to her "Energizing the retrocognition crystals with your own powers, and combining them with the simulator!? You could have caused serious complications to the whole ship if it had not worked! Just what did you had in your mind!?"

Galaxia looked at him. She knew she should not answer, for her father only wanted her to listen to him and to hear how much dangerous and foolish was what she had done. He passed the following minutes remembering her of how she put everyone in danger and how it was absurd that she had done that only because of an inhabitant of that planet.

But it was not the worse, the worse was when her father decided to see the recordings of the previous weeks of Galaxia's going to that planet. They had been recording her in secret, but no one ever saw the recording until today. And then, they saw she with Exedra, and soon, all came in place after that.

"Falling for one of these primitive creatures." He said, sounding completely disgusted. "I knew you were not ready."

Galaxia looked at her, and then, she finally spoke "You are wrong."

"Huh?"

"You are wrong about them." Said Galaxia "You were wrong about Exedra, what means that you might be wrong about all the rest of them." This was the first time she actually questioned her father aloud, and she was not going to back away now.

"They will become trouble for the universe if they ever survive themselves." He said vehemently "It doesn't' matter your impression of them, logic says-" but he could not finish, for in this moment, Galaxia cut him out by saying:

"Maybe logic is wrong!"

The guards and Galaxia's mother gasped, as if the purple dragoness had just said an unforgivable curse. Even Turin lost his trail for a moment, as he just stared dumbfolded at his own daughter.

"Did you just heard what you said?" he asked after a moment, when he finally recovered his voice "These primitive creatures messed with your mind more than I had initially thought!" he said, and Galaxia only glared angrily at him, and he said "We must destroy that planet now! Ready the engines to-"

But once again, he was interrupted, but this time, by a small meteor which passed far too near his face and exploded behind him. All the guards backed away and even his wife cornered in fear.

Turin stood frozen for a few moments, a perplexed expression on his face as he tried to assimilate what had just happened. He slowly turned his head to look at his own daughter.

She had attacked him.

"I'll not allow." She said at the lack of speech of her father "I'll not let you destroy that world." She took a step forward, and she said aloud "If you want to destroy it, you will have to kill me first!"

Her voice echoed all over the room, leaving everyone in there dumbfolded. Her father only stared at her for a long moment, without saying a word. And then, slowly but surely, his expression hardened, to something that Galaxia never saw in her life. She could not say which emotions were in there exactly, but she knew that there was a lot of anger and disappointment.

"So. This is your position?" Turin asked his daughter, walking in her direction. Galaxia answered with a strong look in her face, as if to say "you don't scare me anymore".

The older dragon huffed in anger, and he say "Very well, since you have so much love for that little planet, so it will be your punishment."

There was another silence, as the dragon said "You shall be banished to that planet, and there you shall remain." He said, and Galaxia knew full well what he was doing. As a member of the royal family of Daglax, she could to simply be executed, only banished to somewhere remote. And as she would reside in that planet, destroying it would also kill her, so the planet was not going to be touched.

"You will remain in there for the rest of your life, and you shall see with your own eyes how much these creatures you came to have affection to can be primitive and ignorant. And when you do, you will realize your mistake, and will have to life with it for the rest of your life."

He looked her dead in the eye, as he said the words which would seal Galaxia's fate "You are no longer child of mine."

And, with that said, as he was officially cutting all connections with Galaxia, he turned around, and said to his guards "Prepare the transporter for one last travel, and ready the engines for we to move, we are leaving this planet!"

Galaxia's mother looked desperate at her daughter, and the guards only shared looks among them. And Galaxia, she only looked at her father who turned away from her, before looking at the ground, knowing this was final. Neither her, nor anyone else in that room, ever saw the single tear that ran down from Turin's eye down his face.

* * *

The night had settled into the city of Grahar, and there was dark clouds forming into the skies, which obscured the view from the stars above. There was barely any dragons in the streets anymore. Most of them had gone back home to recoil for the night and to protect themselves from the incoming storm.

So, no one was there to see the brief flash of light into a corner of the street, nor the dragoness who had materialized in there. They had allowed her to keep the holodisguise, and it was the only kindness they allowed her. She had nothing more now, nor the coins, nor the communicator, nor any short of protection save from her own natural abilities which were the only thing they could not take from her.

She looked at the ground at her claws, and then she looked up, at the stars. Right in that same moment the ship where she grew up was turning around, the engines starting to make it work in order to take the ship far away form that small planet, to another far corner of the universe, where no other machination or ability of that planet would never be able to reach.

It was a part of Galaxia's life which was going away, and was never coming back, and she knew it perfectly well. She could only sigh as she let a single tear move down her face. And only them, as she heard the thunder of thre storm above her, she faced her new dilemma:

Where would she go?

She knew no one in the city, and she didn't had money anymore to pay for anything in there. She barely had the information needed to do any kind of work that was in there, and she knew that she would have to sweat a lot in order to have anything in that city.

For a moment, despair took hold of her as she thought that maybe she was not going to last more than a few days in that city by herself. There was no one in there who would be willing to help her…

Wait.

There _was_ someone.

She looked up, and she looked around herself, and soon, she was running, and looking at all sides in order to try recognizing her surroundings, at the same time that the first heavy droplets of the rain started falling.

She just hoped that she would find the way soon.

* * *

"Good as always." Sais Hazard as she ate the last of the roasted sheep, which Exedra had cooked, and the black dragon said a "Glad you liked! From the kitchen. In fact, his cooking was very good. He had learned to cook, clean, and care for the house since he was young, due for having been the oldest of a big family into a poor part of the city. For him, doing all kinds of chores around the house was absolutely no problem.

Shock chuckled to himself as he also finished his plate. Most of Hazard's resistance for having Exedra around vanished when she saw just how useful he could be around the house, and especially when she had tasted his delightful cuisine. The black dragon really had a great talent when it came by cooking. If had he never been arrested, he could have become a very famous chef.

"I'll have to go out again tomorrow." Exedra said, coming form the kitchen in order to pick up the dishes, and take it to the kitchen.

"Another date with this 'Nalina'?" asked Shock, and Exedra could only blush, and he was thankful that his dark scales hid it. His silence, however, were enough answer to Shock, who only chuckled at him, and Hazard said "You are taking too much risks going out everyday with her like that."

Exedra was about to answer, when there was a knocking in the door, and it was rather frantically.

All the dragons stopped and looked at the door "Are we waiting someone?" said Exedra, and the knocking came again. This knock was really frantic, and it seemed that however was on the other side was really desperate in order to be answered.

"Sounds like trouble." Said Hazard, and she said to Exedra "Stay in the kitchen." And she was walking to the door, when suddenly a feminine voice could be heard from the other side.

"Exedra!"

The black dragon's eyes widened when he heard that. He knew that voice.

He immediately ran in direction to the door, moving past a surprised Hazard, and he quickly grippe the door and opened it. On the other side, he found Nalina. She was all wet and panting, seeming to be tired and lost.

"Nalina! What happened to you?" he asked, and she only approached, and she hugged him, and he had to hold her in order to not let her drop to the ground. Hazard and Shock quickly came, and Shock closed the door as soon as Exedra dragged the dragoness inside, helping her rest into a nearby sofa.

"Who is this?" asked Shock

"Nalina." Said Exedra, "The dragoness I have been meeting."

Hazard looked at him "You told her where our house is?" she said in a whisper "Are you crazy!?"

Before the balck dragon could answer, the dragoness in the sofa said "Exedra…" and all the eyes turned to her "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry for… thinking bad of you… for… not believing you…" she looked up, at his crimson eyes "And for… not being honest with you."

"Huh?" Exedra said, not getting it.

Then, the dragoness known as Nalina reached out for the collar around her neck, and she pulled it out, dropping it to the ground. As soon as she did, her form oscillated and changed slightly. The color of her scaled changed from their indigo color to purple.

The dragons all backed a step, surprised, as the dragoness looked straight at Exedra, as she said "My name… my _true_ name… is Galaxia…"


	9. Tales From the Depths of the Sea

Though the city of Grahar was one of the biggest of the dragon cities, and was also the main capital of the dragon lands, it was not to only city that was worth of attention. For far from there, along the coast, there was a city that stood in the middle of an island.

This city was known for being the greatest market in the dragon lands what stood away from the city, and was well known for being the place from which came most of the fish that was eaten on the land, as well as for it great cuisine and also for the works that were done in there. In that island-city lived some of the greatest artisans of the Dragon Realms, and their works made out form sea materials, like shells, bones and corals were famous among the whole realms, and they were highly appreciated and very expensive.

The place was known also for being one of the biggest trade markets in the land, and for its magnificent structures build up into sea-stone. That place was built up in the image of the sea where it resided, and was a way of reflecting the beauty and majestic of the ocean.

A king named Tidus Sealord ruled this island. He was a great and magnificent dragon with sea-green scales and who had a long spear-like tailblade, and who was known for being very much like the sea. He was strong and was very stern when the situation asked for that, and he could be furious and aggressive like a storm of the city when you pushed him the wrong way. However, he could also be attentions and pleasurable, like the sea into a clam and pacific day. He was also known for passing form one to another with amazing speed during situations, just like the sea would change suddenly in the middle of the day.

Despite that, he was a wise and good ruler, and everybody in the island respected and feared him at the same time. He was a figure that everyone in the island respected, and who no one dared to disrespect.

He was married to a wonderful dragoness, queen Aqua. She was a very beautiful dragoness, with light-blue scales all over her body and slender horns on her head and a teardrop shaped tailblade and had green eyes. She was known for being gentle and caring, and for always worrying about others and for always wanting others to be happy. She would always hold all kinds of events in order to raise funds of the kingdom for the less fortunate, and for always supporting the poor and the homeless when she could, and for helping orphanages and hospitals in order to help orders who were less fortunate to have a better living.

She was known because of her heart, which rivaled with her beauty, and she was deeply loved by all the people. She and her husband lead wisely the people who lived in their kingdom, and they brought peace and prosperity to everyone in there, and they were loved by everyone.

One day, their greatest joy came, for Queen Aqua had laid two eggs. These two eggs represented the future of their kingdom, the future rulers of their lands. To celebrate, the king ordered a great parade and a great firework show for everyone who was in there to know that the future rulers of their kingdom had been born. And needless to say, everybody shred of the rulers' joy for this new promise for the future.

The eggs were well guarded and protected during ll the three months that they took to hatch. And during this time, they were always sure that the eggs were warm and well kept. Then, one day, the first cracks appeared in the eggs.

The parents rushed, along with their guard and some servants to see the birth of the new heirs of the lineage.

Soon, more cracks appeared, before the first egg broke. What came out was a healthy male hatchling. It was sea-green colored, just like its father, and it's tailblade was still tub, but it was clearly seem as somewhat shaped like a trident. The points and details would become more definite once it grew, as everybody knew. It yawned and blinked as it saw the light of the outside for the first time in its life. And soon, it stated eeping loudly, wanting to be feed.

After a few moments, the cracks on the other egg also grew, and soon, one piece of the egg fell down. The new hatchling, curious, perked its head inside, and it quickly eeped as it pulled out and fell on its back. And soon after, the egg broke in half, to reveal what had been hiding inside of it.

It was a little smaller and thinner than the other, and its scales had a bluish-white color, and it had small, stubby hors on its head, and a stubby, slightly round tailblade. It blinked a little, as if it was sleepy, and opened its baby-blue eyes, and looking around. It then let out a small chirping sound.

The sea-green hatchling, seeing this small creature that looked a lot like itself, approached cautiously. It sniffed it a little, and the white hatchling chirped at him. He retreated a step, but approached again, and soon, the two were circling around each other, with their stumbling baby steps, totally normal for hatchlings.

The parents approached, and King Tidus stood over the two hatchlings. The white one, a female, eeped and hid behind its brother, who looked up at the big dragon, not showing fear.

The king soon picked up the two small hatchlings son his claws, both which looked at him, and soon seemed to recognize his smell as they both started chirp almost happily at him. The king would never cry. This didn't fit in the image he had, nor fit with his own way. However, he allowed himself to smile proudly at these two new, healthy and perfect dragons.

His wife, on the other paw, had no problem in showing her happiness, as it manifested into the tears of join which were streaming down her face as she looked at her children. Soon she too was holding her children in her claws, and she was nuzzling them happily, as they both purred from the gently touch of their mother.

Soon they were deciding the names of their new hatchlings. The male would be named Frosch, while the female would receive the name of Drizzle. They were the new prince and princess of the island and of the land.

To celebrate their birthday, a great party was held in the whole island, and it lasted for three days. And this celebration would be repeated every year in the day of the children's birthday. To celebrate the day in which the heirs of the family Sealord had come into the world.

And every year this celebration was held, at the same time that the young dragons grew.

* * *

"Wait for me!" said Drizzle to her brother as she ran after him. The young dragon laughed ahead as he ran, and she was going right after him in the hallways of their castle of sea stone.

They had grew quite a bit, and they were still children and they were both playing around. They startled a few guards as they ran by, and they didn't stopped by no one.

Their scales were still on the same color form the day they hatched, their appearance, however, had matured slightly, as their traits were more defined. Their muzzles were slightly more squared as their lost the roundness that was common among the young dragons. And their tailblades became more defined. While Frosch's tailblade was still blunt, it was more defined and was easier to say that it was a trident, and was probably going to be sharp once he matured fully. And for Drizzle, her stub tailblade was slowly take the slightly shape of a drop, just like her mother's.

They both ran across the hallways, until they arrived into a balcony, which gave perfect view to the sea below as it was on the edge of a cliff, on the top of the mount their castle was set on.

Both dragons looked amazed at the great view of the sea that opened in front of them, bot marveled by its beauty.

"Amazing, isn't it?" said a voice behind them, and they both turned around to see a familiar face.

"Daddy!" they both said happily as their father smiled down at them, and he approached, and looked down "The sea is said to be the source of the first life to ever walk in the land." He said to his two children "The sea brings life, but it may also take it if you make it angry. That is why you must always respect the sea."

He looked at them as they looked at him. The king was very pleased by the way that his children appreciated his wisdom and drank greedily of all the knowledge he could offer them "The sea is our home, and it is kind for us as we are respectful to it. Always pay your respect to the sea, and it will always be good to you. Never forget it."

"Yes, daddy." Said the two young ones smiling happily, and king Tidus smiled, and he looked up, and he said "Is going to rain soon."

"Really?" asked Frosch, looking up and searching for any clouds that looked like was going to let water fall down. He saw none.

"It will be soon." Said Tidus, and Drizzle said "This is good!" she said "I love seeing the rain fall!"

Tidus chuckled. Yeah, his daughter really loved rain, she loved it since the first time that she saw it falling. She almost seemed to be hypnotized by the aspect of water coming down from the sky and falling on the land. In fact, she loved to go out when it was raining and play around the rain, trying to catch as much raindrops in her mouth a s possible and jumping in every puddle to make the water splash.

"Let's go." He said to his two children "Soon the lunch will be served." And with that said, all of them entered, and soon, as Tidus had said, the rain started falling, and Drizzle was overjoyed by this. After the food, Frosch walked a bit by his father's side, and soon, he asked him "Daddy, have you ever swam in the sea?"

"Many times." Was the answer of the older dragon "But is risky. The sea is unpredictable, and it can be cruel. If you swim inside the wound current you might be dragged away." He looked down at the young dragon "There are a few dragons like me who can swing for a while over a strong current, but you must never swim in one which is too strong for you."

The young dragon nodded, and he said "Can you teach me to swim in the sea too? Please?" he asked, and he was almost pleading. Tidus could not help but smirk. While his daughter seemed to be fascinated with the water that rained down from the sky, his son was far more interested into the great mass of water that surrounded all the island that was their kingdom. Matter of fact, it was like one was the rain and other the sea.

And it was not a bad thing. After all, both of them were different aspects of each other, and they completed each other. The sun made the sea go up in the shape of the vapor, and this one accumulated up until it turned into clouds. And the clouds, once full and heavy enough, fell back into the sea as water, completing the cycle.

One was the other, and one completed the other. Without one, the other could not exist. They were always in their eternal dance without ever stopping.

The king couldn't help but wonder if his two kids were actually the manifestation of these aspects. He knew it sounded somewhat absurd, but he knew that they had all the indications that they might could be. The king chuckled at this.

He looked down at the pleading eyes of his son, and he said "Well, if you truly want, and if that will make you happy, then I see no problem in you learning it." He winked at his son "After all, when you live along the sea, learning to swim is almost a requisite."

"Yay!" the young dragon said as he jumped around, and he hugged his father's leg "Thank you, daddy!"

Tidus chuckled at his young soon. The little one was still having a lot to learn, and Tidus knew it. Yet, Tidus had the feeling that this boy was a great promise, along with his sister. He just had this feeling that they both were fated to do great things, and to have a great future.

And this was only confirmed as he looked at his daughter, who had her face pressed against the glass of a window and watched mesmerized to the rain that was falling and to the drops which stained the window.

These two had a great future. Tidus could know it only by looking at them.

* * *

Frosch was underwater now. He was almost a preteen now, and he had matured as his body was slightly more toned, and the points of his trident-shaped tailblade were starting to give the first hints that they were sharpening, and it was very clear as a trident now.

The young dragon was smiling at himself as he was holding his breath underwater without many problems, and he swam fast as he watched some fishes swimming around him. He even reached his claw to pass it at one of them. He could catch the fish easily if he wanted, but right now, he was more interested on swimming.

Soon, another body moved near him, it was Tidus. The young dragon looked at his father, who smiled at him, and he gestured forward. Frosch looked at what he was pointing, and he saw a great stream of water that was clearly different from the rest.

It was an oceanic current. It easily stood out among the rest of the water due to it being formed by water in different temperature and saltiness. As a result, it stood apart from the rest of the ocean, and a very trained eye, like Tidus and Forsch's could easily tell it apart from the rest of the sea due to the slightly variation of color, for this water was usually one or two tunes darker or lighter than the water that surrounded it.

Frosch looked back at his father, as if he was asking for permission, and the older dragon looked at him, and he nodded. That was all Frosh needed, and son, with a big swing of his tail to give him the push ne needed, he dashed into the water just like a missile.

He kept his legs and wings very close to his body and kept his body stiff and straight just like an arrow, to reduce the resistance of the water around him, allowing him to swim far faster and more efficiently. He dashed fast with strong and fast movements of his tail to propel himself, and soon, he collided head first with the current.

The first impression he had of this water was that it was warmer than the rest of the ambient around him. He let the current wash over him, and he could soon pinpoint the direction in which the stream was moving, and the strength and speed of the current.

So, he quickly corrected his instance and his body, and he soon was moving himself against the current. He was just like an arrow in the middle of a powerful air current coming from a storm. He smiled as he saw that he was able to keep his ground… I mean, his water, against the powerful current.

He looked to the side, and he could see his father floating in the outside of the current. The older dragon was looking intently at him, and he seemed ready to offer him his help if he needed. However, the king himself doubted that there was going to have the need. For he knew that the young dragon was very talented in swimming. Actually, he was far more talented than many other dragons he had ever saw on his life at such a young age. Sometimes it even seemed that the boy was a part of the sea itself.

Frosch smiled at his father, and he returned to look forward, to inside the current, and he smiled at himself as he felt like he could keep it inside there for hours. However, he knew that his lung were still having the need for air.

Yet, he wanted to keep in there for as long as possible. He kept the swimming inside of the current, using his tail as mean of propelling himself, and he kept swimming straight like an arrow, using the dynamic of his body to fight off against the current, and to keep his pace inside the strong water running in the opposite direction.

Tidus looked as he son swam, and soon, he was feeling his own need for air come at him. He needed to come up to breathe every 20 minutes. His son, however, had already showed to have greater lung power than him. The body could hold around twice as much as him underwater, and he seemed to have no problems to do so.

Tidus got more and more admired by this body by each passing year that he grew older and stronger. The boy was showing each day more that he was truly one of a kind, and that he was indeed special.

However, the king still needed to breathe, and there was no way that he was going to leave his son alone inside a sea current.

Frosch was swimming inside the current, satisfied that he was able to be in there and to be in union with the sea. He liked swimming against the current, as if he was going through some trial that the ocean itself designed to him.

Each time he was in there, in some of these difficult situations that could only be found inside the sea, he felt like it was saying to him "win if you are strong enough", and he answered by facing it and holding up. It was like he was pleasing the ocean by doing so, and proving himself to be worthy.

However, his trail of thought was interrupted when he felt something big entering the current. He looked over, to see the big shape of his father gliding in the water right by his side. The older dragon looked at him, and he gestured up with his paw, and Frosch knew perfectly what that meant.

He gave a mental sigh, and he silently apologized to the sea for having to leave so soon and for not being able to stay for a while more. Soon, he was moving up with bhis father, as they both exited the current and move up at full speed. His father was the first to emerge, and he took big lungfuls of fresh air, while Frosch arrived short after, and he breathed normally.

"Boy." The king said between deep breaths, "I'll never get it how you can hold your breath for so long without problems." He said to his son, who smiled in return "I guess sometimes that all the fish your mother ate when she was still with your egg inside of her made you go half-fish!"

Frosch laughed with his father as he said that, and after a few moments, the older dragon finally recovered completely his breath. He looked up at the sun, and he said, "It is almost past midday now. We must go back home, the meal will be ready soon."

"Can't we stay for a little longer? Please?" Frosch asked, and his father laughed.

"I'm pretty sure that you has some fish blood in your, kid." He said "You love water far more than any other dragon on the Wayfarer Kingdom Island! I wouldn't be surprised if you started growing fins!"

And soon, both dragons were swimming back to the land. They both were experienced swimmers, and they could keep in the sea like that for hours, as long as they took regular pauses to take a long breath and simply float a little to relax their bodies.

In their way, King Tidus could not help but feel completely amazed by how quickly his son developed great affinity with the water. The boy seemed to swim almost naturally since the first time he went in the water, and he had soon learned to move himself underwater and to hold his breath for a long time. Now he was around his preteens, and he could swim as good and fast as Tidus himself only was able when he was entering the adulthood! And that not to mention the way the boy could hold his breath.

The boy had something special, that was for sure!

However, this passion for water and for swimming made the boy go a little weak in the area of flying. The boy had to struggle a lot to hover above the ground, and he got tired easily when he was using his wings for too long. While he was very swift and good at the water, he was not so gracious in the sky. That was why they were swimming to the land instead of flying, because his son could keep up with him much more in the water than in the air.

Actually, if they would be flying, his son would have to struggle to keep up with him. Now, in the water, they both could keep it pretty well. Now, if the boy kept going better at swimming like he was doing, soon, if they were both in the water, Tidus would be the one who would star needing to struggle in order to keep up with his son!

* * *

Back in the castle, a young dragoness was flying around the towers of the castle. She had grown, as well as her brother, now her horns were slightly more pointed and longer, and also, her tailblade was becoming definitely drop-shaped, just like her mother's

The young Drizzle laughed as she flew so high up the castle's towers, and she looked down to see the kingdom of the Wayfare Island. The palace were she and her brother were born, and from which, according to their father, they would someday be the rulers.

Well, he said that Frosch would be the official king, while she would be the Queen, at least until she got married.

She hadn't got this part pretty well.

She looked down, and she sighed, and then, she looked up, at the clouds who were still up there, and yet too far from her reach. She could not reach up for them yet. She had tried once, and soon she started feeling tired and sleepy, before everything blacked out. The next thing she knew was that she was in her father's arms, with everyone around her looking worried. She remembered pretty well how her parents told her to don't do something like that again unless she was surely ready.

She had taken this lesson, and she knew that she was not ready yet, so, she knew that she should not try. However, this did not stopped her from wishing to be up there, among the clouds, to see just where the rain came from.

Drizzle always loved the rain. It was like the clouds deciding that the world needed a bath, and sent down their own shower in order to clean I up. And once the bath was done, the world was brand new again, all nice and clean once more.

She just loved the rain!

"Drizzle!" a voice called her and this voice was very familiar "Drizzle, come back! Is almost lunch time!"

"Coming, mom!" she cried back at the voice, and she immediately corrected her direction in flight in order to fly back at the castle. She landed into a balcony, where her mother was. Queen Aqua smiled down at her daughter, and they both nuzzled.

"Had fun?" the Queen asked her daughter, and Drizzle answered with a "Yes!" what made the queen chuckle, and soon, they both were walking back at the castle.

"Mom?" Drizzle asked for a while after some walking besides her mother.

Queen Aqua looked down at her daughter, and Drizzle looked up at her "Mom, dad says I'll have to get married one day." She said, and she didn't sounded angry or sad. It was more like she was asking her mother a question.

The queen smiled down at her daughter, and she said "In fact, it would be desirable if you did." She smiled down at her young one "Your father and I can't take care of you forever, and your brother will have his own responsibilities once he is the King. We will all be calm if you have someone to take care of you."

"But I can take care of myself." She said, once again, didn't sounding angry or nothing like that "I don't need someone to take care of me."

"I know you don't." the queen said, smiling down at the young princess "But we will be much more relaxed if we knew that you had someone to rely on if you need."

"Huh?" the still innocent young princess said, not getting, and the queen couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her confusion. This was the age of innocence. Though she and her daughter had already have some "mature conversation" a few times, she was still somewhat oblivious to certain things of life.

"I know you are a strong girl, Drizzle." The queen said, "I'm a strong woman too. However, sometimes even the strong woman need someone to support them when they are in trouble."

The queen looked in her daughter's eyes "Sometimes, everybody gets tired or hurt, or grows sad, and when it happens, it is good to have someone by your side who is willing to stay with you and support. Or sometimes, even to hear you out. Someone who cares for you and wants you to be happy, and is willing to help you being strong and to pick you up and help you back on your feet if you fall."

The princess looked at her mother, and she looked down in thinking. And then, she asked, "Is like that with you and dad?"

The queen smiled at her "Indeed, it is." She said with a smile on her face "Me and your father always support each other, and we know that we both can count with each other to help stay strong."

"We care deeply for each other, and we would do anything for the other. I would face any trial and any trouble for him, and I know that he would do the same for me. We stay together and we give each other strength to face the world and to face anything bad that would happen, and we are ready to face the world together if we need."

Drizzle thought long and hard about it, and then, she asked again "This seems to be really good. But, I want to marry someone I love."

The queen chuckled "I know you does." She said to her daughter "Everybody wants. If you do not love the one you are married to, the marriage is fated to go downhill and to end in a way that both you and him will end with your feelings hurt. That is why you need to love the one you are married with."

Drizzled looked up as her mother continued, "I've loved your father for a long time. When he asked for my hand I didn't even needed to think. I knew that I loved him and that he loved me the same way. I knew that we both were made for each other and that I would always be able to count on him for anything. That is the essence of a successful marriage: knowing that the person you are married to cares for you, and also you caring for him."

Drizzle pondered for a long time about it as her and her mother walked, and after a while, she asked one more question "How can I know that a guy is the right one?"

Aqua looked down at her daughter. The young thing knew how to make some smart questions, and so, it deserved good answers.

"Your father and I have knew each other long ago before we married." She said to her daughter "At first, we were friends. Best friends. Overtime, we grew even closer, and I got to know him pretty well, just as he got to know me. We saw the loved one in each other, and we got to think on the other always first, and put our own needs aside."

She looked down at her daughter, and she said, "I can't simply point to you which one is the perfect one, but you can find out by yourself. My advice is: search for someone who makes you truly happy. Find someone who is a good friend and who is loyal to you. Find someone who wants to make you happy and who cares for you, and for whom you cares back. Once you find a person like that, who treasures you and who you treasures back, you will be sure that you have found the one who was made for you." Where the queen's final words as they both kept walking, and now, Drizzle was going to pounder deeply and hard over these words, each one of them, in all their way to the dining room.

Someone who cared for her and made her happy.

This was pretty specific.

Yeah, Drizzle wanted her husband to be someone who she liked. He didn't needed to be too handsome, but he also didn't needed to be ugly. And he needed to be able to make her laugh and to give her pretty gifts.

But, now that she talked to her mother, she started realizing that she wanted more than just that.

Yes, she wanted someone who would make her happy, and who would actually make effort to do so. Someone who cared if she was sad and asked her what was the problem, even if she told him to go away. Someone who was willing to step forward and defend her if she ever had trouble to defend herself. Someone who was there to offer his shoulder for her to cry on. Someone who would tell her everyday that she was beautiful and that he loved her.

Yes. She wanted someone who would be loyal, and caring, and sweet, and gentle, and strong, and he could also be handsome, and someone who gave her value, and who was a friend to her.

Someone…

She had barely even noticed that they had arrived in the dining hall until her mother called her attention. And, as she did, they both had time just to see Tidus and Frosch both entering the dining hall, both of them dripping water.

"Hi mom! Hi Drizzle!" said Frosch as he walked to them, leaving wet footprints on his way.

His mother looked at him,and at her own husband, and she offered a coy smile "You two never heard about a new invention called 'towels'? It is an amazing thing, it serves for drying you when you are wet!"

Tidus chuckled at himself as his wife's sharp sense of humor. She was the only person in the whole kingdom who would dare to talk to him like that, and was the only one who he would ever allow to do it without doing something drastic with the person.

"We just arrived and we didn't wanted to be late." He said, and soon, some servants came behind, drying their water from the floor, as well as offering him some towels.

"You are the king; you don't need to worry much about these compromises." She said, and he smiled back "I need when it is something really important. Like spending time with my beloved family, for instance." He said, and he approached his wife, and planted his scaly lips on her's.

She smiled and returned the kiss gently.

"Bleh!" Frosch said as he saw his mom and dad swapping spit. Really, he had absolutely nothing against them showing their love, but they didn't needed to do it in front of them and right before lunch.

Drizzle, on the other paw, just looked at her mother and she and her father both kissed softly, and they broke apart and they said "I love you." To each other at the same time.

This was what she wanted for her own marriage. She wanted someone nice and who threated her like a princess! Well, she already was a princess, but the point was that she wanted someone who would treat her as she deserved!

"Your Highness." A servant said, catching the attention of the royal family "The meal is ready." The small sea-weasel dressed in fancy uniform informed. The king nodded and dismissed him, and soon, they were at the table, all talking and laughing together.

Yes, the older dragons talked more about politics and matters that did not interested the young dragons so much just yet. While the younger ones talked about their days to each other and they talked about the things that they did.

"And I just stood in the current like I was swimming inside a tunnel underwater!" he said to her "It was the best thing ever!"

"It must have been." She agreed with him, and she ate another piece of the big swordfish they had for their meal.

"I'm telling you, the sea is great!"

"The sky is not bad too, you know." She said to him, and he looked at her "Yeah, but I still prefer to swim, I'm not very good at flying like you." He said to her "You make it look easy."

She blushed slightly at the compliment "Thank you." She said, and added, "But, I'm not that good."

"You are!" Frosch said "Don't you hear what the teachers and tutors say? You are one of the best they have ever seen!" he said to her, and she looked away "I can't even fly that high yet…" she said quietly, and Frosch looked at her.

"You will." He said to her vehemently, and she looked back at him, and he smiled at her "Someday you will fly so high that you will be able to hide among the clouds! And you will be able to see everything and everyone from up there! You will be the best flyer in all of the island! I just know it, just like I'm going to be the best swimmer!" he looked at her, the expression on his eyes letting very clear that he believed in every word he said till now "And I'll help you do it! I don't know how yet, but I'll help you, just like I know you will help me!"

Drizzle looked at him for a few more seconds, and looked away as a vivid blush formed on her face "I-if you say so…" and the dinner proceeded without further incidents.

Frosch…

He was there for her since she could remember.

He was always there to help her feel better if she had a bad day. And if she was sad, he was always there to make her company.

He always cared for her and supported her in any way, and he was always on her side no matter what happened.

He was…

He was just what her mother had described for a perfect husband.

* * *

Years had passed rather quickly, and, as they passed, Drizzle and her brother became closer and closer.

Frosch would always be there for her to help her in anything she needed, and he never hesitated into offering her his help if she ever needed. And, as he had promise that he would, he had helped her to reach greater heights. And he did so by offering her his constant support and always incentivizing her to do better than her best and to always go after her dreams and her goals.

He had always been there for her to defend her if she had troubles, and he was always by her side to offer his shoulder and to help cheer her up if she ever had a gloomy feeling.

They both had grown in these years. Drizzle now was a slender and very beautiful dragoness, with long and slender horn s in her head and a raindrop-shaped tailblade on her tail. Some in the kingdom said that, in many aspects, she looked a lot like her mother. She was already on the age to get married, and she already received many pretenders, coming from noble families on their kingdom, however, she always showed little interest in them.

Frosch, on the other paw, went more after his father. Now he had many of the striking features that resembled him, like a strong maw and a toned body that showed off his strength. And also, his tailblade now was clearly a trident, and it seemed very sharp. So much that many wondered if it could be used as a weapon in battle, and that it could actually kill someone.

And of course, with each other's support, it had not only been their bodies that had matured. Drizzle learned a lot in her years, and now she was a kind and wise dragoness who, despite being still somewhat innocent, was now ready to protect others and to fend for them. And now, she had reached new heights on her flying abilities. Now she could easily reach for the clouds, and she felt at home among them. Sometimes she would hid among them and watch everything from up there, and she often was near them when they started raining. It was magical to see the rain falling down.

And Frosch, he had grown into a strong and wise dragon. He was bold and determined, and he was always ready to stand his ground against anything and anyone, and to step forward in action if needed. He was a dragon with a spirit that rivaled with the one of his father. And also, he had really grown very much into his swimming abilities. Now he was the best swimmer in all the kingdom, and he could hold his breath for almost one hour. He had showed an amazing skill in all he did, and he was famous for being the best in that.

Frosch was strong and handsome and very brave, and he was also caring and gentle with how needed. And each time that Drizzle stopped to look at him, she saw more and more the perfect male on him.

She was older now, and she knew that he was her brother, and that many would think it wrong. However, she didn't cared at all. She only knew that Frosch has been with her since she could remember, and that he had always been on her side, as well as protected her. He was her confident and her best friend. And they both kept secrets among them, hidden from all the others.

Including one small secret. One that they had kept even from their own parents. One that they had both discovered a few years ago, and agreed to be their most absolute secret.

And of course, keeping this secret had somehow brought them even closer. And that was what it was taking to make Drizzle definitely make her mind up.

"That day was very good!" said Frosch as they both walked in direction to their respective rooms. Now they were walking together into a hallway. They were just coming back from the annual party that was their birthday celebration. And today, was simply the last day of a whole week of celebrations. And, by the way people were drinking in there, probably tomorrow most of them was going to remember only half of it.

"Yeah, the party is always good." Drizzled agreed. She was already used to the parties. This was the 21st, in order to celebrate their 21 years of life. And this time, they really made it. The two brother were officially adults, and that meant that soon they both would be ready to take up the duties of rulers.

Well, Frosch would take over as King. Drizzle, on the other hand, she already received some advices of her mother and father to find a good husband, and her father even presented her some individuals who they thought would please her. However, the only one who she really wanted was right by her side right now.

"Frosch?" she asked him shyly, and he looked at her. His sister looked at him, and she looked to the sides, as if to see if no one was looking. "Can we talk about something… particular?"

The dragon looked at his sister, and he also looked to the sides "You mean… about..."

Drizzle looked at him for a few seconds before understanding "No, not _that_!" she said, almost whispering. She knew that it was a very delicate matter, and that they shouldn't talk about it unless they were completely alone.

"Oh, right." He said "So what?"

She looked at him, and he could se her blushing "W-well…. Frosch… you know that… mom and dad… want me to get married soon, right?"

"Yeah, I know." The dragon said, and he looked at her "So, what about it? You don't want to get married yet?" he asked her "Sure, you might still be waiting for the right guy, I understand that. You have all the right to wait."

"Yeah, thank you." She said to him, still blushing slightly, and seeming a bit uneasy "But, is not exactly that." She said, her blush somewhat growing.

"Huh? So what it is?" He asked her, not getting just what would be the trouble. She blushed even more as she said "Well… I have been thinking a lot about it for a while now and… I…" she shuttered, and she looked at the ground as her face was very red.

Frosch looked at her as she tried to form the next words "I… I think I already know who I want for my husband."

"Oh! Really?" Frosch said, barely holding back his surprise. Yes, he wanted hios little sister to find someone who liked her and who would care for her. However, he could not shake the feeling of worry that followed. After all, she was still his little sister, and he was not just letting anyone take her and possibly break her heart later on.

"This is… nice." He said, trying his best to look positive and happy for his sister. Bu, in the back of his mind, he was making a mental note to himself to pay a visit later on to this candidate to brother-in-law. "So, is he someone I know?"

She looked up at him, and she nodded. _Good_. Frosch thought. If it was someone they knew then it would limit in much their options, for there were not many people who were actually close to their family and who they actually knew, and it included the sons of a few nobles and also the children of the servants and employers. He just prayed that it was one of these rich spoiled brats that usually appeared in their meetings and that felt like they could treat everyone the way they liked.

But, on second thoughts, he knew that his sister would never want to marry someone like that. She had a good eye for men, and she would not like just anyone. Still, he wanted to make a visit for this pretender, whoever he was.

"But…" Drizzle continued as she looked at the ground, still blushing "He doesn't know that I like him."

This surprised Frosch "He don't?"

"No." Drizzle said "I… haven't told him yet."

"Why?"

"I'm scared that he might reject me."

"He would have to be crazy to do that!" Frosch said "You are the most wonderful dragoness that there is in the Island, and any dragon would be lucky to have you as his wife! You are gentle, smart, caring, and you are beautiful! I can assure you that not a single dragon in the island would ever think about rejecting you!"

Drizzle looked up at him, with an emotion that Frosch did not recognized. He was about to ask her what she was thinking, when she did the last thing he would ever expect:

She kissed him.

On the lips!

"MMM!" Was all that Frosch was able to muster as his _sister_ 's lips crashed against his. She had her eyes closed and she seemed to be enjoying it. Frosch for a long moment didn't knew what to do now. He just stood there, his eyes widening so much that it seemed that they were going to pop out of his skull, and his sister was still kissing his lips.

After a while, his brain seemed to finally start working again, and he pulled back, breaking the kiss, as he almost shrieked "What are you doing!?" he was blushing furiously and looking to all sides, suddenly worried that someone might have seen it.

He took a few moments to realize that his sister was now looking at him with a mix of shock, sadness and fear. He immediately calmed down, and regretted having outbursted like that to her. He took a deep breath, but he was still shaken from what just happened, and there was still a blush on his face.

He was not naïve, he knew perfectly well why his sister had done that. So, instead of asking why, he asked "For how long have you been wanting to… do it?"

Drizzle looked up at him, and she said "Quite a while."

Frosch looked at her, and he sighed, not knowing now what to say. They both looked away as Frosch said "It was a long night. Lets talk more about it tomorrow, okay?"

His sister nodded, and so, they both turned around and they entered their respective rooms.

Frosch was going to take a lot of time to sleep, for what has just happened would come back to haunt him at every few moments. He would eventually fall asleep, but not before he reflected of every single aspect of what the kiss meant. About what his parents would say if they ever knew. About how people would react. About what they were going to say.

However, what haunted Frosch the most about that kiss was that, in the moment that her lips touched his', when they were kissing…

He actually liked that.

* * *

Smell of smoke.

Screams in the distance.

 _BOOOM_

Frosch bolted on the bed as he looked around. He could hear the sounds of explosions and screams coming from the outside of the castle, as well as smell the scent of smoke and of other things burning.

"What the-" Frosch tried to say, but was stopped when another huge explosion came, and this one made his whole room shake.

The dragon quickly jumped out of bed, and he dashed out of his room. The first thing he saw was Drizzle. She also had woke up with the sounds and the explosions, and she was looking around, looking scared.

"Frosch! What is happening?" she asked, and there was another explosion, this one seemed to make the whole castle shake. Then, one of the servants came "Your Highness!" he said in a rush, "We are being attacked!"

Soon Drizzle and Frosch were being led to outside of their castle. And on their way, they started realizing what was happening. The Island was under attack!

But… why?

They had god relations with everyone! And they were important political allies to other kingdoms, though they always remained neutral in relation to any kingdom, and they made commerce with practically all kingdoms near. Why would someone attack them?

As they passed by a nearby window, they saw some kind of glowing inside and it was not from fire. And each sudden glow was followed by an explosion. The dragons instinctively ducked as they heard the explosion, and they could not help but wonder what was going on.

After a few more minutes, they finally came to the outside of their castle, and what they saw made their veins freeze.

Outside of the castle, the island was almost literally on fire. There were many houses, which were being licked by the flames. But what called most their attention, was the dragons which were flying around. There were some dragons using the armors of their kingdom. But there were another dragons, these ones wore very strange armors. They covered their whole bodies and they almost seemed to be like a second skin.

And they were porting strange devices in their paws. One of them, which was close to them, pointed a device, and it shot out a blast of pure blue light, which caused the hoof of a nearby house to explode when it hit it.

Both dragons looked stunned at the strange dragons with their strange weapons who were now attacking their homeland.

"W-what is this?" said Drizzle, too shaken, and Frosch remained silent. He had absolutely no idea.

One nearby explosion called their attention, and they both looked to see another house on fire. The family ran form there screaming, there was a hatchling crying, holding on onto the mother's tail for its dear life.

"Frosch!" Drizzle said, horrified "We have to do something?"

"Do what?" He asked, as scared as her "What can we do?"

She stopped for a moment, and looked at him. That look could only meant one thing.

"No." Frosch said "Drizzle, we can't!"

"They are killing our people!" she said, and Frosch could still hear the screaming around him. "We have to stop them now!" she screamed at him "And you know how we must do it!"

Frisch looked at her for a few moments, and he looked at the ground, seeming in deep thinking. While this, the servant was looking at them, wondering just what they were talking about.

It took only a few moments for Frosch to understand what she was saying "I'll take them down. You put down the fire." He said, and his sister nodded at him. And so, they both took flight, barely hearing the servant's calls for them.

Frosch kept flying, albeit quite difficultly, until he was face to face with one of the strange dragons. One of those pointed its weapon to him, and it started emitting a sound and a blue light, signaling it was readying to fire.

Frosch just stood in front of him, and he took a deep breath, and he felt something building up inside of him. And then, he let it out. As he did, a huge stream of water came out form his mouth, and hit the dragon square on, making it lose its shot and be thrown to the ground.

While this, Drizzle flew right above one house, and she took a deep breath, and she exhaled a cloud from her mouth. This cloud formed over the house, and grew in size, until it finally was big and it was able to start pouring a heavy rain over the flaming house, quickly putting the fire out.

The other flying dragons in there with the weapons started targeting Frosch. He was not very agile to dodge their attacks, however, he belly needed. For, as soon as they got on his line of sight, he took a deep breath, and he breathed a long and continuous stream of water, just like a geyser, and he hit one of them straight in the chest.

The other two became stunned by the doing of the sea-blue dragon, and Frosch used this time to start shooting water balls from his mouth in their direction, each one hitting with the strength of a wave.

They barely knew what hit them before they too were falling into the ground. As he did it, Drizzle continued flying away, breathing a continuous stream of cloud on her awake, and leaving behind a stream of clouds that poured heavily over the houses, slowly but surely putting the fire out.

One of the mysterious dragon attackers saw this, and he aimed a weapon to Drizzle, and was getting ready to shot. However, he was suddenly hit by a wave of water, that seemed to have come from the sky. But it had come from Frosch mouth.

After a few minutes, most of the fire was out, and Frosch was giving a real tiring to the dragons who were attacking their home. After a while, the attackers started retreating, and the last of them disappeared on the night.

Both siblings were panting and they stood one by the side of the other in their flight in mid-air. As both recovered their breath, they noticed eyes on them. Down there, the people on the street looked up at them.

However, before Drizzle or Frosch could do or say anything, a lout sound filled the air. And then, a strange light came from above, as if it was the sun coming form the middle of the sky. They looked up right in time to see a directed beam made of pure light, and thin as a pole, hit the center of the island.

As it did, there was a sudden vibration as it exploded into a ball of light, that started enveloping the island. A wave of pure heat and noise went forward, as everything on its path was destroyed.

Drizzle only watched in horror as that what seemed sure death came closer and closer to them. Frosch, out of pure instinct, jumped and hugged his sister. As he did, water formed around them, and sealed them inside of an orb of pure water.

They were hit by the light and steam came out of the water as it hissed loudly. Drizzle barely registered anything besides the sensation of being pushed as she lost her senses.

* * *

Drizzle groaned softly as she slowly stirred away.

Wow…

What a horrible nightmare!

She had dreamed that the kingdom was being attacked by some very strange dragons with magical weapons. Maybe it was the thing she ate for dessert, the taste was strange.

She could hear the sound of the waves crashing, ant the screams of the seagulls, as well as she could feel the salty scent of the sea. Strange, she didn't remembered leaving the window open.

Also, she didn't remembered her bed to be so stiff. And that it rocked like that. Or that it was wet…

Wait...

That was not her bed!

She blinked, and she slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Frosch, who was looking back at her, seeming worried.

"Drizzle! Oh, thank the Gods you are okay!" he said as he nuzzled her. She blinked confused, and she raised her head to look around, and her stomach suddenly seemed to start taking spins.

She was in the middle of the sea, and the island was nowhere to be seem. She was floating into what seemd to be a big door, which horribly resembled her of a piece of the Castle's gate. Frosch was in the water looking at her, and all around her where floating piece of destroyed constructions and objects.

She looked all around, as she slowly started realizing:

"It wasn't a dream, was it?" she asked shaken at Frosch, who looked at her, and he shook his head "no."

Drizzle was shaking, and she asked "W-where is the island?"

Frosch looked at her, and she saw tears coming out of his eyes, as soon as they would come out of hers, while they floated in the open sea, after he said the words:

"There is no Island anymore… There is only us…"


	10. Cold as an Iceberg

The Sliced Neck Street used to be home for all kinds of illegal things, and for all kinds of criminals. There were several guys hidden in that place and all of them followed their own ambitions and needs.

Some of them were just petty criminals, who simply stole because they wanted an easy way of living, or even simply felt the thrill of committing a crime and then escaping without begin caught. There was also the fugitives, guys who made crimes and now used the dangerous neighborhood of the Sliced Neck to hide. There was some guys who were said to be killers, and which usually were threated carefully. There were several drug dealers, guys who could offer you all kinds of forbidden pleasures if you paid them correctly. And there was the ones who used these drugs, these usually avoided by almost everyone.

Sure, there were some very good individuals living in the Sliced Neck. There were some honorable (into what was possible to be in a place like that) individuals who run their own business and only tried to go on with the life. And there were the Swift Shadows. One group from the Sliced Neck who were seem by most of the city as petty thieves and criminals, but there were seen as good-doers who used what they could get through their own means to help the less fortunate of the Sliced Neck community.

Of course, not everybody was like them. There were other groups or gangs in the Sliced Neck and, unlike the Quick Shadows, they usually did far more aggressive approaches, and they didn't cared very much about the community. They cared more about their own power and about getting advantages for themselves and their personal gain. These gangs usually were the ones which caused the most problem for they usually ran some illegal activities, like dealing drugs, and also, they sometimes even invited young kids to make part of their group. These last ones were the most despicable of all.

These gangs brought a lot of trouble to the community in all shapes. And one of the worst of them all was the criminal gang known as "The Forsaken". They were a group formed by some individuals who were minorities among the city of Grahar. They were made by all kinds of species which were less fortunate than the dragons, like cheetahs, wolves, moles, goats, rats and several others. However, dragons also made up this group, most of them having come from poor neighborhoods and now wanting to have a better living through the illegal methods of the Forsaken.

They were the most dangerous group from the Sliced Neck, and usually they e/were involved with all kinds of illegal matters. They did robbery, kidnapping, drug dealing, and many others. Some even said that some of them did even greater crimes. And their leader was a big and bulky dragon called Joglan Irontooth.

This guy was a big and rather fat dark-grey dragon with black spots all over his body and a grey even darker, almost black, at his legs. His eyes were yellow colored and his tailblade was shaped like an axe. He was well known for being one despicable individual, who brought all kinds of troubles in order to bring himself advantage, and he usually surrounded himself in luxuries at the expense of the rest of his followers. He was one complete and absolute bastard, and he was totally willing to sacrifice all of the members of his gang, as long as he got what he wanted.

Right now, in this moment, he was on one of his favorite hideouts. He was sitting into a bed of pure silk with several pillows around him, sipping on a cup of very expensive wine. His tastes were very refined, and he liked to surround himself by all these expensive things and enjoy just the best that the money could buy.

He sighed satisfied after he took the ship. "100 years old." He said as he enjoyed the wine on his tongue "A great harvest. Aged in special conditions to preserve the quality at the same time that it maximized the flavor." He took another sip, and he almost purred at the taste "Perfect… Simply sublime."

He looked to his side, to the person who he was talking with. It was another dragon, this one slightly bigger than Joglan and with a toned building and a very serious look on his face. He was sitting on his haunches as he looked at the dark-grey dragon. This dragon had sapphire blue skin and he had protrusions coming out of his head and tail, all of them looking somewhat like spikes, but only a little more worked, as if they were crystals, or maybe even icicles, if you had enough imagination. His eyes were of a glacial-blue color, and they had some kind of coldness in them which usually was enough to make most dragons give a step back and look away.

However, this dragon did not scared Joglan. He even offered the cup to him "Are you sure you don't want it, Needle?" he asked to the dragon who only kept looking at him "Come on, take a sip! It will make you feel more relaxed! You look like you need to drink a little."

The spiked dragon, nicknamed "Needle" did not accepted the drink, though. He simply raised his paw in a sight that he was silently refusing. Joglan laughed to himself. Needle was never the kind that drank during work. Nor he made jokes. Nor he tried to hint into a cute dragoness who appeared.

Actually, Needle was one of the most serious dragons he had ever met in his life. He didn't talked much and he focused only on the job and on being paid, whatever else he did with his life and free time was only about him. By the way, not even him knew much about Needle's life. The sapphire dragon never talked about his past, he was always evasive, or he simply ignored and remained silent. Needle was a dragon surrounded in mystery. All that was known about him was that he came from somewhere north.

Dammit, they didn't even knew his true name! Of course, all the members of their group acted under nicknames, to avoid them being directly involved and getting in direct trouble with the law, but Joglan was proud of himself for knowing the name of every single one of them, in order to be able to use it in the future, if they ever started to pose a problem.

He was proud of knowing all he could about the dragons who worked for him, and know a little much about each one of them. However, that sapphire colored dragon had been working as his personal bodyguard and chief of security for almost three years, and he knew not a dawn thing about him!

He never spoke too much and he refused even to share his real name with the others. He was simply called Needle, the nickname he earned due to the spikes that covered his head and tail.

Of course this opened ground to all kinds of gossip about him inside his group. Some said that he was a wanted war criminal who ran out of his country to avoid being arrested for killing civilians. Some said that he was some retired killer for rent and now searched for more stable job. Some said that he was a serial killer who came to that place in search for new victims, and some even say that they had seem him walking at night, with his spikes all covered in blood and dragging a bag with the size and shape of what would be the body of a dragon. Some also said that he was the leader of his own criminal organization back on his home, nd he had to escape due to his group having been disbanded and he had to escape from the country to avoid begin arrested.

And of course, Needle never denied nor confirmed any of these.

Of course, they also knew a little about him by the way he behaved. The guy was usually silent and he did not seemed to be bothered easily. However, if you managed to leave him angry, he could be very harsh and very violent. The guy had his own way of fighting, usually using pure brute strength, but he also was smart. He was not like the mindless goons that usually made the stereotype of bodyguards. Needle was incredible smart and he could keep his ground easily by using both.

He was very efficient, and he was not cheap, but he was worth every coin. He was efficient and strong and smart. In addition, his though and strong look, the way he looked down with that mix of coldness and despise, and the reputation he owned, made him the kind of dragon that could scare anyone off.

Joglan sighed as he took another sip of his wine, and he wished that he could at least know a little detail of Needle's past. And he never gave up trying.

"You know? When I have time to think like that, I sometimes think about my father." Joglan said, as if trying to make up a friendly conversation. "I hated him. He was a drunk who beat up my mother almost every single night, and also beated me."

He snorted "I'm glad the guy died from drinking. He chocked on his own vomit after a night of parting. And still, the bastard left for me and my mother all the debts he had in life. Bah! It would have been too much that he would at least die without causing troubles."

He sighed, and he looked at Needle "And you, how was your father? Was he a pain in the tail too?"

This was one of his favorite tactics to gain information from his workers. He used the tactics of creating a connection with them and making them talk about their past. And as they did, they gave him details of their lives without even realizing it.

But once again, he saw that it didn't worked with Needle. The blue dragon only looked back at him, with that same look on his face he had all the times, cold and distant. Not even looking away, not even trembling a lip, not even a raised eyebrow. Guess! Sometimes it even seemed that the guy had not feelings. But, if he did, they seemed to be frozen.

Joglan already knew that it was going to lead to nothing. So he simply dropped the matter, and resumed to drinking his wine. He already knew that once again his words didn't had effect.

However, if he could look into Needle's mind. If he could see what was happening to him in the inside, he would know that his words had far more effect than he imagined, and the blue dragon only didn't showed it. It made him remember something from his past.

Something too far from his past.

* * *

 _The snow land stretched for a long way. It was common to have snow in the northern lands, even during summer there were occasional snowfalls, and in the winter, the temperature could drop several degrees below zero. Yet, there was a lot of creatures who could live in there, most of them perfectly adapted to the cold climate._

 _For them, the snow was only a part of the daily life, while the ones used to warmer weathers would find themselves quickly dying of cold in that harsh environment. They were used to it, and they had been toughened and hardened by the cruel cold that punished these lands._

 _And that was true about one small creature that was jumping across the snow. It was rather small, specially considering his species, and it was also rather skinny. The young sapphire colored dragon was chasing a white rabbit. Said dragon had a few spikes in the shape of icicles coming out of his head and of his tail. He was rather skinny and he was running after the bunny with a determined look on his face._

 _The bunny he was chasing made a lot of turns and was hopping around as it avoided the sapphire dragon, who chased after it with all he got. He could not fail again!_

 _He jumped and chased after the bunny, and he even flapped his wings to chase the small white thing. He saw an perfect chance, and he jumped, claws outstretched and ready for the kill._

 _However, the bunny showed to be smarter, as it made a swift turn of direction, and the young dragon barely had time to react as he went headfirst in the snow, pummeling himself into._

 _He cried out, and flailed his hindlegs as he tried to put himself loose. He had to recover! He had to go after the bunny and catch it!_

 _He had to struggle, and finally was able to sue his hindlegs to pull his front from inside the deep snow. He shook the snow form his face, and he started looking around. Maybe it was not too late, maybe he could still get the bun- Oh no…_

 _The bunny was already dead, held in the clutches of a much bigger dragon, who looked down disapprovingly at the younger one. This dragon had Prussian-blue scales, and he had long horns that came out of his head. He was big and very toned, and he looked down at the young dragon with reprobation clear on his dark-blue eyes._

 _"Father!" the young dragon cried "I-I was almost getting! I swear I was-" but he was cut out when the bigger dragon slapped him hard in the body with his big and strong paw, sending him flying for 10 feet and landing in the snow._

 _The young dragon groaned in pain as he tried to get up, only to have something to press on him coming from up. "It was too much expect you to be able to catch a simply prey like that." Said the bigger dragon as he stepped in the smaller dragon with one paw. "I had hopes you had already learned something from the past lessons."_

 _The younger dragon whimpered "Father, too heavy…" but he was ignored by his father "If you can't even get a little prey, how do you expect to survive?" he demanded "If a little harmless thing like this can outsmart you, what if an great enemy comes and decides that you are better dead, huh!?"_

 _"Dad…" the young dragon said, whimpering "Dad, please, stop, it is hurting me."_

 _His answer was that the bigger dragon pressed harder on him, threatening to sink him in the snow "You think your enemies will do it?" he said coldly "You think that if you ask politely and tell them they are hurting you they will stop? You think they will even consider letting you go and live only because you ask them to 'please' do it? That is not how life works!"_

 _The younger dragon whimpered loudly, as the presser seemed almost to be threatening to break a few of his ribs. But the greater dragon seemed not to care. After a few moments, he withdrew his paw, and the younger dragon could finally breathe and start to get up from the snow, as he fought back the humidity what threatened to form on his eyes. He knew that if his father saw a single tear running down his face, the things would go from bad to worse into a heartbeat._

 _Luckily for him, the older dragon didn't noticed, and he simply walked, giving his back to the younger dragon. He didn't told him to follow, or to come with him, or even anything like that, he only said "You will sleep without dinner tonight." And he continued walking._

 _The sapphire young dragon looked over, and he knew that he should not complain. So, he simply followed the older dragon, making effort to keep up with him, as the dragon seemed not to care if he had hurt him and now he was having trouble to keep up with him due to being small. But keep up with him the young dragon did, for he didn't wanted to be left behind._

 _He had tried. Like he did all the time, and it was not enough._

 _He went with his father out for these trainings almost every day, and every day his father made him push himself to his own limits and beyond. And the young dragon always did his best, and he tried to be well on the older dragon's eyes._

 _It was not for the punishments. He was already used to punishments like being hit or being left without food, or having to work even harder in the next day. It was for the opinion of the bigger dragon._

 _The young one didn't knew why his father treated him like that, or why he insisted him to know how to hunt, to fight, and to do all kinds of things like swimming and climbing. Seriously, why he needed to know how to climb when he could fly?_

 _Yet, his father made him practice all that and much more, including survival skills, like hunting. And the sapphire dragon made his best to do well, in order to impress the older dragon. Sure, he had already got good in some of those, and he could do better than many other dragons his age, yet, it seemed not to be enough._

 _The episode of the bunny was the first to happen in a few weeks now. The past experiences had been a few successes in the case of all the lessons and the trainings. Yet, it seemed that only the failures made his father react in some way. When he was successful, instead of a compliment, of a "well done", a smile, or even a simple nod form the head, all he got was a stern look and a speech of the things he did wrong and what he could do better._

 _Still, the sapphire dragon kept trying, in hopes that maybe, one day, he could get his father to tell him that he was proud of him._

 _After all, he could be very harsh, and even violent to him, but he was still his father, and he loved him…_

 _Right?_

 _They walked through the snowy fields, the older dragon don't seeming to mind of his son would stay behind. And the younger dragon did what he could to keep up with him, even with the pain on the side of his body where he had been hit. They kept walking, until they were getting near a village. They could see it from the distance, however, they were not heading there, they were heading to a small wood house, which was somewhat far from the village, but close enough to make the trips to there for market and supplies were short._

 _Outside the house, taking care of a small crop, was a dragoness. She was icy-blue colored with white for her underbelly and wings. She had long and slender horns on her head and an icicle-like tailblade. Her eyes were of a pale shade of blues, and she was focused on her garden._

 _She noticed their approaching, and she smiled at her husband "Arlan." She said, and he simply nodded at her. Right behind him, came their son, and she saw the blackening form the bruise that there was on the side of his body, and she instantly knew what happened._

 _"Oh, Glacius." She said, approaching him. "It is hurting too much?" she asked to him, and he simply shook his head. But it_ was _hurting quite a bit. She immediately brought him inside "Let me take care of it."_

 _His mother was like that. While his father was harsh and severe, his mother was gentle and always caring. Every time he appeared with a wound or a bruise or a cut she would drop all that she was doing and she would stop whatever she was doing and focus all of her attention to help him. She never minded if she was in the middle of something important, if he was in pain, he became her main and only priority._

 _Soon, he was in the middle of the small living room (small in comparison to them), sitting into a sofa made out of wood with pillows filled with goose feathers. His mother was watching over his bruise, and she was threating the area with a special ointment that would help make him feel better. It would ease the pain and would make the swelling reduce._

 _His father only looked as his son was ministered, Glacius, the young dragon, assumed that he was not approving that his mother was threating him. He always made it clear that a real man must not rely on someone's support._

 _After communicating to his wife that their son would go to bed without dinner tonight, he left. He worked in the village, he did all kinds of works around, and he sometimes worked with the hunting parties. He was one member of the council of the city, and he was one of the most respected members. Everybody in the village held him into great standards._

 _That was why Glacius always put so much effort to live up to his father's expectations. He knew that his father wanted his best, and he was willing to do it, in order to make him proud. Even that if sometimes it seemed that he actually didn't cared about him._

 _Like it did today._

 _Glacius looked down, and his mother noticed that he was sad, and she said "Glacius, darling, what is wrong?"_

 _The young drake sighed, and he only said "Mom, dad likes me?"_

 _His question was genuine, and his mother looked down at him. She sighed, and she said "Of course he does." She smiled down at her son "I know that sometimes he might be harsh, and I know that he doesn't say or shows very much, but he loves you."_

 _Glacius looked up at his mother, and she enveloped him with her frontlegs and wings into a hug "We both do love you." She said in a comforting way. "Do you know this, don't you?"_

 _Glacius took a moment to think, and he allowed himself to say something that he would not say in front of his father "But… sometimes he is so mean…"_

 _She sighed, and she said "I know, darling." And she hugged him closer "But he does care for you. You are important to him. And I hope that someday you see that."_

 _The young dragon found comfort into the affection that his mother showed him. Affection that he never received form his father in absolutely no way. He let himself sink in her embrace, as he muttered "Okay mom."_

* * *

His father loved him…

Needle, the grown up Glacius, snorted lightly. This called Joglan's attention, who looked at him, and said "Something wrong?"

The dragon was not worried about him. Glacius knew it pretty well. He was useful to him and he liked having a powerful dragon like him as his bodyguard. But he didn't had the most slightly concern for him. And neither had Glacius for the dark-grey dragon.

"No." he said simply "Nothing." With his grave and strong voice, his tone almost as cold as his gaze.

Yes, his father HAD made his life difficult. And MUCH. However, now Glacius maybe should thank him for at least part of it. For he had learned to be strong. He had learned to never show emotions and to fend for himself. And if it wasn't for that, he would probably never had arrived alive in that new country, nor survived for so long alone.

Not after…

NO!

He was not going to think about it! He didn't wanted!

He had passed the last 28 years trying o leave it in his past.

He could not let it come back to haunt him! He was not a little dragon who was scared of the father anymore! He was an adult, and he was strong! The past could not affect him anymore.

It was dead and buried under thick ice.

Just like them…

The sapphire dragon gritted his teeth and just hoping that the bastard who he called boss would not notice.

However, some short of commotion coming from the outside suddenly interrupted his own trail of thought.

"I don't care, I need to see him!" said someone out there, and someone retorted "Boss is a busy man, if you want to talk to him you have to take an hour specially for that."

"I don't care! This is important!"

"What is this?" said Joglan as he looked, and Glacius said nothing, for he too didn't had a clue. But, deep inside, he was thankful that something had come now, to distract him. Thinking about the past always made him feel uneasy. Maybe it was someone who would have to be scolded out by the horns.

He hoped so, he needed something to vent his current anger on.

There was a little more commotion on the outside, before someone said "I don't care! I have to see him now!" and as soon as this was said, someone opened the doors forcefully, and ran inside.

It was a young dragon, not fully an adult yet. He was bulky and orange colored with cream underbelly and black wing-membrane, and black running down his back. He had six black horns on his head and a tailblade shaped like an axe, which moved frantically behind him as he entered. He had crimson colored eyes, and they were opened as if he was deadly scared.

Glacius recognized this dragon quickly. His name was Gorgan, but he was usually called Grinner, because of his habit of having always an arrogant grin on his face. However, now he was without that grin, and not only that, but the scales of his snout were blackened.

He came quickly in front of Joglan, and he said "Boss! Boss! You won't believe what happened!"

"Sorry sir!" said a tiger who came right behind him "We could not hold him!"

"Seriously, you will NOT believe it! It is totally CRAZY!" Gorgan said as he looked at his boss.

The dark-grey dragon finally got tired of it, and he said "Enough!"

And this was enough to make everyone in the rom go silent. They knew perfectly well that when Boss told to go silent, you should not say a single word more if you valued your life.

"I was in the middle of sampling a very expensive wine." Joglan said patiently "You BETTER have a very good reason to disturb me."

"I have!" he said, and he turned around, and he showed his backside "Look at it!"

There was a long silence in the room, and some of them thought that they could hear the sound of Joglan's veins throbbing in anger. " _That_ is important?" he asked, his voice denoting contained anger. Gorgan quickly spun around, and he said "And look at my face! I'm burned!"

They looked at him, and then, Joglan said "And, how this is important?"

"Because other dragon did it!" he said, and he put himself to explain what had happened. And he talked about the dragon they chased. That was when Joglan interrupted him.

"Apollonir?" he said, looking at Gorgan "Apollonir Fireheart?"

"Yeah, I think, I never knew his second name." he said, and Joglan looked at him, his face very serious "What?"

Joglan took a few deep breaths, and he said "Apollonir Fireheart, is a member of the Quick Shadows."

Gorgan immediately understood. The Quick Shadows were maybe their greatest rivals. Not because they disputed territory or influence with them,, but because they got directly in the way of their work.

The Quick Shadows had proclaimed themselves the defenses of the Sliced Neck community, and so, they protect it against other gangs that brought nothing more than problem. And the Forsaken just entered into that list because they deal drugs and committed several crimes in the area, including extortion.

The Quick Shadows got in their way, but they rarely got into direct confront. Until then.

"If that one you attacked was really Apollonir Fireheart, then you have just gave the Quick Shadows the excuse they needed to declare war to us." He said slowly "You have any idea of the consequences of it? DO YOU HAVE IDEA!" he snarled loudly, making Gorgan and the tiger recoil in fear, but Glacius remained impassive.

He little cared for the Quick Shadows nor for the Forsaken. In his opinion, the only problem on them destroying each other was that he would end up without job. He would have sighed, but the orange dragon continued "I-I didn't kenw who he was! I-I think he also didn't kenw I was into your group."

"But the Quick Shadows will not take long to find out!" Joglan spat "They will find out, and then things will get complicated real fast! I really hope you have not killed him, otherwise they will come to us with all they have!"

"No! I didn't!" he said, and he continued explaining. He explained about the purse that he didn't wanted to give, about the chase, about how he cornered Apollonir and was about to beat him. But what he said next, caught everyone's attention.

"Woa, woa, woa! Hold on." Said Joglan "Did the dragon… vomited flames in you?"

"Yes! I mean, no!" Gorgan said, looking around "I-it was not like throwing up! I-it was more like they wer part of his roar! Like they were coming from his lungs!" he said, and after a moment, he said "It was like… It was like he was breathing them."

There was a long silence, as Joglan and the tiger traded looks. They both them opened smirks, and they started snickering, and soon, they both had burst into laugh. Gorgan only looked at them as they laughed, and Joglan was laughing so hard that he was clutching his belly.

"That's!" he said between his laughs "That's absurd! I was almost believing you! A dragon breathing flames! That is just too ridiculous!" and he continued laughing, and so did the tiger, for they both knew that it was a total absurd.

Glacius, however, seemed not to think so, for instead of laughing, he was looking somewhat shocked.

Luckily to him, no one seemed to notice, they were far too busy laughing very hard.

"Wha… why are you laughing!?" asked Gorgan as he looked at them "It is true! It really happened!"

"Yeah, right!" Joglan said as he continued laughing, and Gorgan said "It is true, it really happened! I swear by my mother's grave!"

It took a few moments before Gorgan could convince the others that he at least believed that what he was saying was truth. And a while more to convince them that he was not crazy. That was when the tiger offered an explanation:

"Spark Powder?" asked Gorgan, and the tiger demonstrated by picking up a little of black and sparkling dust from a small bowl, and making a gesture spreadoing it in the air. The dust cracked and sparkled in the air as it seemed almost to ignite.

"Once you make a little friction and let it go it sparkles like that." The tiger explained "It is much used into shows of magic or to entertainment, but can also be used to trick people." He explained "If you are in the dark and if you are not sure of what you are seeing, many can claim and swear to the gods that it looked like real fire. It is a rather clever trick."

"The kind of trick the Quick Shadows would use." Said Joglan "Now they can convince people that they have magical powers. As if they were not famous enough already."

Gorgan looked at the tiger and back at his boss, and he said "N-no… no! It was not a trick, I'm sure!"

"It was dark and you were with adrenaline on top of your brain for the chase." Said Joglan "Apollonir got you off guard and surprised you with something you did not expected and you imagined things."

"Boss! Look at my face!" he said, gesturing to his blackened snout scales. "I didn't imagined that! And sparks would not have done that with my face!"

"Look, I have other things to worry and I really would love to hear more about the things you think you saw, but now I think you should leave." Said Joglan, and soon, two dragons were guiding Gorgan outside.

Well, they were almost dragging him, as he continued saying "I'm telling you that it is true!" he said as he was taken outside "It was not trick or anything, and I didn't imagined! I'm telling you that it happened! Fire came out of his mouth!"

As Gorgan was taken outside, Glacius looked as he was taken, and his words echoed into his mind at a distant memory. One of the ones that he spent his whole life trying to forget.

Came out of his mouth…

* * *

 _Glacius was just very satisfied. He had just managed to do it right!_

 _This was the coolest thing ever!_

 _He could not wait to show his father what he could do! He finally was going to hear his father say something good about him! There was no way that his father would not be impressed!_

 _The young sapphire colored dragonling ran across the snow, until the garden, where his mother was taking care of the crop. She looked at him as he asked her "Mom! Where is dad?"_

 _"He will be back from the city at any time soon." She said to him "Why?"_

 _"I want to show him a thing I had been training! He will love it!" the young drake said, and his mother looked at him, interested._

 _"Really, what is it?" she asked interested. Glacius looked up at her, and he thought a little._

 _"Well, I can show you first so you can tell me if it is good." He said to her "And then I can show to dad! But you will have to keep secret, I want this to be a surprise!"_

 _His mother chuckled, and she said "Okay, I promise to keep secret until you show to your dad." She said, crossing her chest. And this was enough to Glacius. And soon, he was looking around, and his eyes fixated into a piece of the fence that was half broken._

 _He smiled, and he got ready "Okay, now what you will see will be the coolest thing ever!" he said as he stared fixedly at the fence. His mother wondered what he was up to. Maybe it was some kind of acrobatic? Maybe he had been training his pounce or an attack with the claws? That would probably please Arlan to know that their son was training on his own._

 _However, nothing could prepare her to what she was about to see._

 _Glacius looked at the fence, and he closed his eyes, focusing, trying to bring on forth that feeling on his gut. And soon, it was building up, and he opened his eyes as he smiled, and he opened his mouth, letting out a breath. This breath, took the shape of a stream of what seemed to be a small blizzard, and it hit the fence square, and as soon as it was over, the fence seemed to have been flash-freeze as there was ice all over it._

 _"Yes!" Glacius said as he cheered and danced in place "I did it! Ain't that great mom? Ain't that amazing- Mom?"_

 _Of course, Glacius already expected his mother to be surprised, after all, for what he knew there were no other dragons that could do what he just did. However, he did not expected her to look shocked._

 _No. Not shocked._

 _She looked horrified._

 _She just stared at the fence and back at her young hatchling, her looked denoted some kind of fear._

 _She was scared of him?_

 _"G-Glacius…" she said, looking at him, and she asked "D-does anyone… have anyone… Anyone knows you can do that!?" she practically shouted, making him jump back._

 _"N-No." he said "I've never showed this to anyone, and I always practiced it in secret." He said in his defense "I was planning to show it to dad to impress him."_

 _"NO!" she screamed loudly, making the young dragon jump. "Your father can't know! No one can know! Ever!" She leaned over him, almost towering, just like his father usually did. However, instead of angry, she seemed scared to death and concerned._

 _"You will never ever do it again in front of ANYONE!" She almost shouted "You will never let anyone know you can do that! Not even your father, not anyone!"_

 _She had never spoken like that, she had never been like that. She was always so calm and so gentle. This was the first time in his life that she actually raised her voice to him. This was so unlike what he had came to know form her that he was cornering in fear._

 _His mother soon seemed to notice this, for she stopped when she saw the expression of fear from her young hatchling, and she immediately seemed to regret it. She breathed as she enveloped him with her frontlegs, and she said "Glacius, I'm sorry."_

 _And for a long moment, they just stood like that, with her hugging him. He would never expect her to react like that. Why she acted like that? He had done something wrong?_

 _She kept hugging him, and after a moment, she stopped and looked at him, as she said, this time calmer "Glacius, you can't let anyone discover about that. No one can know, not even your…" but she stopped when her eyes fixated into something. And the fear returned to her eyes as she spoke "Arlan."_

 _Glacius quickly turned his head to see the unmistakable form of his father. BY his side was dropped a bag with food. He was just staring that them, his expression unreadable._

 _Glacius didn't took very long to deduce that his father must havce seen it all. But the older dragon only looked at them for a while, without doing or saying anything._

 _"Arlan." Glacius' mother said, but the dragon immediately turned around and flapped his wings, flying away._

 _Glacius looked as his father flew away. He didn't knew what that meant. He didn't knew what was going to happen then. But he had a terrible feeling on his guts, as if something really bad was going to happen…_

* * *

…And it did.

Glacius had to hold back a groan as he knew that if he did a sound now it could catch the attention of Joglan and the tiger, in a way that he would have to give them explanations. And he was not willing to talk to them about that, not when he never talked about it to anyone else.

Of course, this was the first time in years that he actually thought about it again. For a long time he tried to banish this to the back of his mind, and to avoid this memories no matter what. However, what the orange dragon had just said sparked his memory, as well as his curiosity.

Could it really be..?

"Bah, bothering me because of this." Said Joglan, completely oblivious to the mental debate that Glacius was having with himself. "Like I didn't had anything more important to do than to hear the delirious imagination of another dragon." He said, almost mocking, and Glacius remained silent

"However." He said "I think it is god that he told me about this incident with the Quick Shadows. Sure, it is a problem that one of them was attacked by someone who was under my command, but I think it was worth if to know their new tricks." He said, looking back at the cup that had his expensive wine "If they go around spreading that they have magic powers and pose as the 'magic saviours' of Sliced Neck… well, I have my own ways of dealing with them." He finished with a smirk, as he took another sip of his wine, and he almost purred at the taste.

Glacius only looked at him, and then, after a few moments, he said "Sir, if you excuse me, I have to deal with one thing." And without even waiting for an answer, he left the room, ignoring Joglan's surprised expression or his questions to him.

Now Glacius had no time for this right now. He had to go deep into this story.

* * *

 _Why I thought it would be a good idea!?_ Gorgan said on his own mind, as he walked out of the office and into the streets. Of course that he should've know that they were not going to believe him! Sure, who would?

It would be btter if he had remained quiet, because now, the story was probably going to spread and he was going to look like a fool and be target to all kinds of jokes. Damn Apollonir!

Asw he was going, he was stopped by someone calling, "Hey, kid."

He quickly turned around, and he saw someone coming in his direction, and it was not exactly someone you would see coming after you.

"N-N-Needle?" he said with a quiver on his voice. Needle was know for solving Boss' troubles, and if he came after you, you probably had a reason to worry.

However, Glacius was not that for this. And now, as many times before, he had ot hold back a frown when he was called "Needle". Yes, he knew it was because of his spikes, but guess, couldn't they be just a little more creative? What was the size of the brain of the one who thought this nickname.

However, he could not think of it now, he stood in front of the kid, as he said "Gorgan, isn't it?"

The younger dragon seemed scared, and he seemed ready to tunr around and run for his dear life. Glacius sighed, and he said "Don't worry, you are not in trouble, otherwise, I wouldn't be being so nice with you."

This made Gorgan relax a little, but not very much. He had already heard a lot of rumors about Needle, and he was not going to drop his guard to end up impaled by his spikes.

"I want to ask you about this that you saw." Glacius said "About the dragon that breathed flames." He added the last part in a whisper, as if to avoid others fropm hearing them. Gorgan looked at him, and soon, he started explaining in details the part of the flames.

Glacius nodded, and he thought to himself, and after a while, he said "You must know that if you tell this to others they will most likely think you are crazy or that you are making it up."

This made Gorgan frown, but Glacius ignored him "Of course, the idea of a dragon being able to make something come out of his mouth, and using it as a mean of hurting others, specially if it is a, lets say, 'manifetation of nature' it is indeed very fantastic. It is so fantastic that, unless people see it with their own eyes or hear it from a very reliable source, it will sound as an absurd, and so, it will not be believable."

Gorgan snorted "That was why you came? To mock me?" he said in anger "I know what I saw! And I know that I'm not crazy nor imagining! No matter what you or anyone else say!"

Glacius only looked at him "I didn't said I don't believe you."

This caught Gorgan off guard, and he could do nothing more than look at the dragon who stood in front of him. The needled dragon looked at him, and he said "What exactly do you know about this Apollonir?"

Gorgan blinked, before he explained what he knew about him, what was very little. He only knew that somedays he walked around with some baskets with food, which he and his pals usually stole at least half. He explained that he usually was seem around some places like old houses and also into what seemed to be some local healing houses. But, other than that, he knew practically nothing about where exactly he lived or where he want on his own free time, if he ever stopped for a moment to be a Quick Shadow.

Glacius growled. It was too little!

He looked at the dragon in front of him, and reached out for a purse with a few golden coins inside. He offered it to Gorgan who hesitantly took it and his eyes widened when he saw the sparkling gold in there. "From now on, you will be my personal informant about Apollonir Fireheart." He said to the orange dragon "From now on you will learn all you can about him and come to tell me. I ant to know where he lives what he does, who are his friends, if he sneeze I want to know. Got it?"

Gorgan blinked, and looked at him "O-okay…" he said, looking at the golden coins "B-but why are in interested in that freak?"

Freak…

Freak…

…Abomination…

Glacius snorted loudly as he came dangerously near Gorgan, making the dragon yelp and stumble back, tripping on his own tail as he landed in the ground. Glacius was breathing heavily as he looked at the scared dragon, He tookl half a minute to calm down again, and he looked back at Gorgan, who was scared, and he spoke slowly

"This is _my_ business." And he added "And you will not let anyone discover what you are doing, and nor will you tell anyone about this, about Apollonir and his 'ability', nor about me nor about any of this whole story. Am I being clear enough?"

Gorgan whined meekly as he nodded, and Glacius took this as a good sign. He breathed deeply, and he looked at Gorgan with a look of disdain "Now go, and you better come back with useful information. Now go. Go!"

And that was all that needed for Gorgan to scramble fast, and Glacius was confident that he was able to make his point with the dragon, and that now he had a source of information about this possibility.

Glacius turned back as he started walking back to his job. And as he did, he could not stop himself from living again something that happened far into his past. Something that he would give anything in the world to forget.

* * *

 _"Arlan, stop!"_

 _"He has to die!"_

 _Glacius was hiding under a table as he saw his parents fighting. He never saw his father like that. This was not only anger that he was showing. The way his face was deformed by the rage, and the look on his eyes. Glacius had never seem him like that. He even seemed to be possessed._

 _Glacius never felt so scared in his life, and he watched in horror as his mother was trying to hold him back. HIS father had stayed out for a few hours after that event in which he saw Glacius and flew way. And when he came back, he was like that. His breath smelled like strong alcohol and he seemed to be totally out of control, saying that he had to kill Glacius._

 _Of course, his father already showed inclination to anger, but that was the first time that he actually seemed to bring about the object of truly hurting him! And it could only be his impression, but his father somehow seemed much scarier than he had eve been._

 _Glacius could do nothing more than to hide under the table in fear as his mother tried to hold him back._

 _"Arlan! Stop! This is not you!"_

 _"That abomination has to die!"_

 _"He is our son!"_

 _"He is a monster!"_

 _"Arlan! Stop!"_

 _"Let me go!" and after that he threw her across the room with great force, and she landed on top of a great ornament made out of hrons, and they pierced her in the back, making her gasp as she fell back to the ground._

 _Glacius watched in horror as his mother started to bleed in the ground. She looked at him, and she raised her paw, as if to reach him, as she breathed "My… baby…" and then, the light left her eyes._

 _Glacius felt himself shaking as he saw his mother die in front of him. However, he barely had time top become sad, for in that moment, the table he was hiding under was flung, and he was faced by the image of his father. He snorted and bared his teeth as he looked down at his son with his black eyes._

 _"You…" he breathed in a tone of pure hatred "You made me do this." He sad accusingly "She is dead because of you!"_

 _Glacius barely had time to react as his father raised his paw, ready to deliver a blow. He acted out of pure instinct, breathing cold air over his father's face, and making him roar and scramble back as a thin layer of ice formed over his face._

 _Glacius didn't knew what to do, but he bolted in direction to the door by pure instinct, hoping that he could escape. However, his hopes were short lived as something grabbed his hindleg so hard that for a moment he thought it was going to break._

 _He let out a cry of pain, as he was raise from the ground and threw back, landing into the center of the room. He blinked, trying to clear his mind of the fog of pain and despair and get up, as he heard his father._

 _"You… you always was nothing but a nuisance." He said in a bitter tone, and Glacius looked back to see him walking in his direction, his expression showing cruel anger as he came near. "You always brought nothing but trouble, and you never were of any use."_

 _Glacius tried to scramble, but his leg hurt, and he fell back to the ground as his father came closer and closer. "And now, my wife is dead because of you, you little abomination!" he spat in anger "I would have killed you in the moment you left the egg! I never even cared about you, anyway!"_

 _Glacius panted heavily as tears were now streaming down his face. He looked back when he felt a shadow fell over him. He saw his father looking down at him, and with a paw raised, claws ready for a strike "And now, I get rid of you, once and for all!"_

 _He was serious. He was truly going to do it._

 _His father was going to kill him._

 _Glacius felt fear. He felt betrayal. Despair. Anger. But most of all, he felt something building up inside of him. A mix of all these emotions feeding something. As his father was about to give him the lethal blow, Glacius cried out, as he felt something explode inside of him, and spread to all his body, and then outward…_

 _VUSH_

 _CRASH_

 _CRINCH_

 _CRUNCH_

 _CLING_

 _…_

 _It was snowing._

 _The wind was howling as the prelude of a great blizzard that was approaching._

 _As snow was falling quietly across the fields, the lonely figure of Glacius walked. He was limping due to the pain on his hindleg. It was not broken, but it was bruised, and he would take a while before he could walk normally again._

 _He had his head down, and his eyes were bloodshot, due to he have been crying heavily. He stopped for a moment, to take deep breaths of the cold air. It made his lungs sting and burn, but he barely even minded._

 _Raising his head again, he looked forward as he started to walk away, leaving behind a trail of footprints in the snow, which soon would vanish under the blizzard. A trail that led to what had once been his house. Now it was nearly destroyed, with great icicles and spikes of ice having pierced through the walls and the ceiling form several different directions._

* * *

Glacius stopped to take a few deep breaths, to hold back any tears that might threaten to come out. This was the first time in years that he actually thought about it.

He had passed many years of his life trying to leave it all behind. However, he knew that he was never going to forget it. He just knew it.

Even if he became truly cold as ice. Even if he somehow managed to turn his own heart into a block of ice, he just knew.

His past was always coming back to haunt him.

He breathed, as he tried to focus in the important matter now.

If what Gorgan said was truth, then there was a dragon around there that could do things that other dragons couldn't.

A dragon who was, somehow, like him.

As Glacius looked at the sky, he said to himself "I'm going to find you."


	11. The Will of the Winds

The old believes of the dragon world were very important. There were several cult spread all over it for the several ancient gods. The main cult was the one of Draconia, the great Goddess of dragon kind. Yet, there were several other cults spread across the land, to forgotten gods or to other symbols and even for ideals and ways of thinking.

Among them, one of the most famous cults was the one of the temple known as Stormgate Stronghold. This was a temple that stayed in Cloudgate Citadel, a great city near a chain of mountains that had more than 10000 inhabitants, dedicated specially to the old beliefs of Draconia, but with a small differential from the rest of variants of the religion. They also had a belief that one day, Draconia would come back to gather all her faithful followers and take them to the promised land, where they would live in peace forever, and they would take their rightful place by ruling in all the infidels and the lesser creatures that populated their world.

That was the main belief that united the followers of this religion, that one day, they all would take their rightful place as rulers by the side of their great goddess. That was what led many of their main activities, like gathering all the good of gold, silver and gems that they could and offering it to Draconia, as well as practicing their vows of chastity and also making fasting in order to show their devotion and growing even closer to the divine.

The main leader of this cult was called Nereon. He was a big gold-colored dragon with long and majestic horns coming out of his head. He was big and his scales seemed to shimmer as he moved and the light reflected on them. He was taken by many as an example of a great majestic dragon, and so, it was no surprise that this cult had chosen a majestic creature like him to be the great leader and the representor of their cult. The symbol of all the power of the dragon kind.

And it was not only his appearance that made him perfect for this position. It was also the fact that he was maybe the most devoted to the beliefs of the cult, and the most faithful follower. He practically lived through the teachings of the cult, and he did not hesitated to punish anyone who broke their rules. And also, he was very god with the words in a way that he could gather more followers after a few hours of very passionate speech. And their cult was soon gaining power and it was soon starting to spread its influence to out of the four walls that made their temple.

And that was exactly their goal: to spread the word of their religion to all corners of the dragon realms, and make everyone see the greatness of their group and how they were destined to go far. For all the dragons to gather together and to be there once Draconia arrived and would gave them what was rightfully theirs: the control over all the lands.

That was the faith of all the followers of the Stormgate Stronghold. And they all were dedicated to it and they would follow it till the end. They all were devoted followers and they would follow with passion all of their teachings.

Well…

Not all of them.

* * *

In the temple, a single dragoness was sneaking past the gates of the temple. This dragoness was a very special one.

Her name was Oberon, and she was no one else than the daughter of Nereon. And what made her so special was her color. Her scales were of a violet-purple, and he eyes were yellow colored. She caused a lot of commotion in the day she came out of her egg due to her color. Practically everybody in the cult believed her to be a sign sent by Draconia of her imminent return. The young dragoness was highly praised and received all kinds of hopes and prayers for she was a symbol of their future and of the true majestic of their religion.

As so, Oberon was quickly assigned to be a priestess of their cult, and so, she soon started climbing up into the hierarchy of their religion, until she was becoming the younger priestess of the cult, and also one of the most important. This was a matter of great pride to her father, and also, she was a great symbol of the religion, and she was going to be the most important dragoness of their cult, and the first female to be their official leader, once her father had passed away. Many would consider this the greatest of all glories.

However, none of them ever asked the young Oberon if she wanted that.

Oberon always felt like this was somehow dumped over her. She never asked to be born a purple colored dragoness, and she also never asked to be part of their cult, even if her father wanted that. She always had her own goals, and also, she barely even believed in half of what they said. Sure, she believed into Draconia's legend and into the blessings that she gave to the dragon kind. However, she thought that the blessings she gave were for all of the creatures that walked in this world, not only the dragons. And this thing about they rulling over all the others, and threating them as if they were inferior only because they were smaller and more fragile. This was just something that she could not swallow.

And else, since the beginning she had to attend to several important compromises and to several meetings and other things that she was still far too young to fully understand. And they always expected perfection and total dedication of her part to things that were barely of her understanding and that she was still to young to actually care about. As if she had a duty to it, only because of her color.

I mean, it would have been too much for them to have asked her if she wanted to be a priestess? What difficult it would have been? Didn't they considered that she might not be for this life, and that she might want to do something else with her life than to spending time going into long ceremonies and giving up her own personal life for the shake of a religion that herself barely even believed like the rest of them did? It would have been too difficult?

Of course, it was just a matter of time before everyone started seeing that she might not have been born to this life.

Just for start, she tended to get late to all of the compromises relating to the cult, like the prayers and the ceremonies of giving. Being there in the right time was not exactly one of her strong points, and she usually got late for the meetings and usually this gave everybody a problem, like once when they had to delay a whole ceremony because she got distracted doing other thing and she arrived almost two hours late.

And also, she tended to get easily distracted. And it was not only by the lateness. She tended to easily get lost in thought and she often missed her clue when she had a part into the ceremony, like forgetting what to say, saying the wrong thing or entering in the wrong time. That happened a lot lately, and it didn't diminished as she got older, as everybody said it would. She was starting to think that it was not a simple thing that was going to go away if she ignored it enough. She knew that the others had told her it, and that she should fight it while it lasted. But it was really hard and it was not going away, she was starting to think that it was something in her nature.

But, all these problems seemed to have a common cause, in her own opinion, it was that she simply didn't cared that much for the cult. Yes, as said, she didn't not cared much about the cult nor she respected it too much. She never tried to hide that she never agreed too much with the teachings of the cult, specially to what came about the whole speech of the "dragon supremacy" or whatever they called it. It was something that she usually did not bought, and more than once, she questioned it twice or more times, much to the dismay of the rest of the members of the cult, specially her father.

He always said that a "dragoness like her" should act more accordingly, for she was far more important than these normal creatures, and more than they could ever hope to be. Sure, she did not agreed to it in the slightest. Since little, she didn't cared very much for these things. She used to slip out of the temple and play with young cheetahs and wolves and other creatures, as if they were her equals and her friends. And sure, with the kind of thinking that her father's cult defended, many had a bad opinion for her to get involved with these "inferior creatures".

Of course, their opinions only led her to be upset with them, that when she even listened. She didn't understood why it should be so important if they were or not born from eggs, or had scales of could fly like her. In her way of thinking, people were people, and it didn't really mattered the species. She never understood why they wanted to make the differences so important.

Seriously, why everybody made such a fuss about it was totally beyond her. This thing of separating from others just because they were different seemed wrong to her, and it seemed that this kind of thing was made only for making people unhappy. IN her mind, if people could get along with whoever they wanted, and be friends with others without caring for their species or things like that, everybody would be happier.

Of course, as soon as words like that get out of her mouth they were treated as if they were heresies, and she k new that if she was not so important in their eyes, she would be severely punished for saying such a thing. Just another reason why she disliked that cult, they were so attuned to their own believes that they didn't wanted to hear anything that went against what they thought was true. They were too close minded to her taste.

In a wide picture, she just didn't seemed to have been made for this cult. She was the exact opposite of what most of them were. She was free-minded, she was rebellious, she was jolly, she did what she wanted when she wanted, and she was open-minded and very receptive, in a way that she didn't cared for other people's species and she was totally willing to hear other people's opinions on subjects like politics and religion, not being limited by the believes of the cult. All of that was summed together in order for her to become the kind of dragoness that just couldn't fit in their cult, less even be a high priestess of it.

However, her father was still refusing to accept it. He kept repeating to everyone that this was just a phase that his daughter was passing, and soon it would be over and she would accept all the responsibilities and the duties of her cult. Still, he seemed to be one of the few that seemed to believe that, as many of the cult were starting to believe that Oberon was not made for their cult, despite her color, but they did not said that aloud as not to anger her father or be taken as heresy and consequently punished.

Oberon was truly annoyed at her father by this aspect, as he seemed simply to refuse to believe that his daughter just could not, and maybe did not wanted, to be part of his cult. Maybe it was because of his pride, and he did not wanted her to stray from the path he wanted. Maybe it was due to, if his own daughter went away from the cult he led, than their credibility on the eyes of the society would be troubled. The point was that he was still treating her as if she could easily be corrected in the "right path", even though it seemed almost too clear that she could not.

Well, it could also be taken that her father was too stubborn to admit that he might have made a mistake by insisting her to become a priestess. She felt everyday more that she just was not made for this life.

With a sigh, she continued sneaking past the walls of the temple, hoping that no one was going to see her. She knew that if she was caught sneaking around it would be a great trouble for her. Especially after what she had just done.

She had just sneaked into the main room of the temple and she picked up something from there: a pair of golden bracers from the personal treasure, and it was also one of the offers for Draconia in the shape of a precious object. The bracers were designed to fit around a dragon's forelegs, and they were made of gold and delicately and intricately molded with complex designs and with some precious stones, seeming to be depicting stars or something of the like.

No one knew exactly where these bracelets had come, or what exactly they were for. Some said that they were part of an old treasure, and some said that they were made long ago for an unknown king of a forgotten kingdom. Well, whatever was the truth, it was only know that they were a very fine work of art, and that they were really something very precious and admirable.

That was why Oberon had hopes that she could get a good amount of money for them.

There was so much precious things into the main room, and many of them were far too precious, fancy and big. No one was going to miss a small pair of bracers, right? At least that was what she hoped, at least until she could do what she wanted with them.

Yes, she wanted to sell them, and she hoped that she could get a fair amount of money for them. But she did not wanted the money for herself, it was to use it for a better purpose.

There were some families living near the ground of the temple. Families of less fortunate species, like cheetahs and also wolves and some goats and others. They were alone in their own there, and they barely had money to buy themselves food and other bare necessities. Oberon had some hope that with the money for the bracers she could get something that would help them out.

Sure, she never wanted to rob from the temple, but after this morning she was not in the best terms with them. She had gone to talk to her father and asked if they maybe could give a little of what they had to them in order to help. After all, they had a lot of things, there would be no problem in sharing it.

But, once again, she had underestimate her father. Not only he refused, but he also said that it was an absurd helping out these inferior creatures, or else disrespect themselves and their treasure by letting these "lowly creatures" touch them with their "filthy hands".

That was what it took for Oberon finally have a great disgust with her father, she almost got ashamed of being a dragon because of that. She didn't knew what was Draconia's purpose on creating the dragon kind, and she was not going to pretend that she knew, for she knew that few sins were worse than the one of wanting to talk in name of the gods. A sin that her father seemed not to have much problems into committing. However, she was pretty sure that she did not wanted them to be all arrogant and full of themselves to the point that they mistreated others just because they were different from them. Honestly, if they were so noble, than why should they act in such an arrogant way?

So, since her father was no0t willing to do anything to help who was really needing it, she decided to take the matter on her own paws. She took a while to convince herself to really do it, though. She knew that if she was caught she would be in _big_ trouble. So she had to be extra careful when she sneaked out of her bedroom and in direction to the room where they kept their offers, and she took a while until she decided to finally what to pick up. She had chosen something that would be small and people would hardly notice that was missing until a few days later. It also could not be too small, for she needed something that would give back a god amount of money for these poor families. So, after a while, she had chosen these bracers that no one knew where had come from, or what exactly were. They were simply perfect! Small enough to hide and they looked to be valuable enough to give a good amount of golden coins.

So, sneaking and picking them up, the young adult dragoness picked them up, and she put them on her own wrists, and she adjusted her cloak to make sure that it was hiding her body, as well as them. She needed to get into the market to sell the bracers, and the bad pat of being a purple dragoness into a cult like that was that they made question of the whole town knowing her. She doubted that there was a single dragon or other creature in the city that didn't knew who she was, or could not recognize her as soon as they saw the colors of her scales. That is why she needed to be very careful not to let anyone recognize her. If her father or someone else form the temple heard that she was saw in the market sealing something as valuable as these bracers, it wouldn't take long for them to check onto the goods of the temple and discover that she had "snatched" something from them. And that would be just as bad as being caught right now.

She was doubly careful when she passed through the gates, being careful not to make a sound. Well, it just didn't helped that the gates were quite old and they creaked when she tried to open and close them. For a moment, she was afraid she was going to be caught, however, she was able to pass. She could possibly thank it to the trust that they had that the people admired them and were not going to try anything against them, so they ended up being a little slack at caring for the security. Yet, she was being very damn careful by passing there, and she looked over her shoulder every few moments as she walked away, being sure that no one was following.

Her heart was hammering faster and faster as she walked away from the temple. Sure, she already did it hidden a few times, but she was still getting nervous as she was now taking something stolen with her. The bracers seemed to become even heavier on her wrists as she walked with them. Well, she was technically a member of the cult, and the bracers belonged to the cult. So, the bracers technically belonged to her, right? And so, this was not stealing, she was just taking something that was hers and she was going to sell it, which was her right as the owner of them, right?

These thoughts helped her felt better with herself, but she doubted that any of them were going to make her father go easy on her if he ever found out. She could already imagine his reaction if he discovered that she had stole something from the offers that were supposed to be to the great Draconia. There were surely going to have lots of screaming and she had a strong suspect that even by being a purple dragoness, and being a priestess and maybe even being his daughter, this time were not going to be enough to escape a punishment. She shuttered as she thought just what could happen.

However, as she was getting quite far from the temple and closer to the city and to the place of the market she wanted to go, she soon was getting relieved to see that she maybe could escape from this. At each step she gave she felt lighter and her heart was returning to its normal rate as she was getting more confident and she was soon growing relaxed as the chances of being catch, at least ion that present moment, were getting lower. She could let out a relieved breath as she was letting the temple behind, and she was now coming closer to the city.

She made sure the cloak covered all of her body, including her long and purple scaly wings, as she was sure that a single glimpse of her violet scales by anyone who could be outside in that moment of the night would surely give away her identity, and she would be in trouble. Still, she did not diminished her walking, as she had her goal set straight in her mind. She had come too far already to give up only because she felt insecure, she was going to go to the end.

She walked past the desert streets. There was practically no one out there in this time of the day, and they hardly would come, save for a few individuals of the nightly community. Luckily, Oberon didn't crossed with any of these in her walking. Maybe it was her lucky day, maybe she could make it to the nocturnal market, sell the bracers, and come back at the temple and enter with the money without being seen. And then, she would be able to hide the money she got for long enough until she could sneak with it away and then give it to these poor families. They would keep secret, of course, most of them knew her and they knew that she was not like the rest of the arrogant dragons that made the cult of which she was part of. They liked her and so they would gladly keep her generous donation in secret. Everything seemed to be perfect.

"Going out at night, Oberon?" a voice asked in a low tune behind her.

She almost jumped out of the cloak and off her own scales as her heart seemed to have jumped even higher than her and straight out from her body. For a moment she panicked as she thought that she had been caught and that she was going to be dragged back to the temple to face the wrath of her father and a probably very severe punishment.

But this soon vanished as she swirled around and she met another dragon. He was muscled and he seemed to be very attractive. His scales were of a dark-grey color, almost the color of the clouds during a powerful storm. His eyes were of an azure color and they were gentle as he looked at her. His head was ornated with long curved horns, and his tail had a bolt-shaped tailblade. This dragon. was no one from her cult, right the opposite, he was from another temple.

There were four temples in Cloudgate Citadel, each one dedicated to a different variant of religion and, consequently, to a different set of believes. This dragon, in particular, was a priest from another temple, one in the opposite extreme of the city, one that had the strong believe that all creatures that lived in the world were equal to the eyes of the gods, including Draconia. They defended that the dragons were, in some aspects, superior to other beings, but they didn't defended that they should dominate other creatures, but that they should protect them and act as judges for the world. They defended that, as the powerful creatures that they were, they had the duty, given by Draconia, to care and fend for this world, and to forever protect it against all dangers, as well as all the creatures that lived in it, be them dragons or not.

This dragon, in particular, was a god know of her. She breathed a sigh of relief as she took her paw to her chest and clutched it. "Gale." She said, panting slightly "Please, don't sneak on me like that, you know I don't like it."

The gray dragon simply chuckled, and he said "Sorry, I was taking a breath of the night air, and then I saw you sneaking around and I got curious."

She looked at him, she knew that he lived in the temple, in the other side of the city, and that most people usually didn't went that far only to "take a breath of night air", as he said it. He seemed to notice that she was suspecting, for he chuckled, and he said "And, of course, I decided to use this chance to see you." He approached her face, and he gently kissed her in the cheek, making her blush.

She and Gale were on a relationship for quite sometime now. It had started off when they both had snuck away from their temples as kids. Gale to see better the city, and Oberon to escape from the lessons of praying that her father insisted her to have. They ended up meeting in the center of the city, and they both played together. It was really fun to hang around with someone her own age for a while. But of course, it had to end when her father found her and he screamed at poor Gale for him to stay way from his daughter. And sure, Oberon did not escaped also, but her escape of the lesson was somewhat clouded by the fact that she was playing around with someone who was, as her father said "an enemy of their religion", and sure, he made very clear that he didn't wanted to see her near him ever again.

And sure, if her father didn't wanted to see it, so he would not see it. And he didn't. From that day on, she always sneaked out of the temple, in order to be able to see Oberon. Luckily, the people on his temple were not as strict as her own, and they had no problems into her playing with Gale. For them, she was not the one who belonged to the enemy cult, she was only a child, and there was absolutely no problem on her to play around with Gale, since it seemed to make both of them very happy. And then… well, after being friends for too long, it was, of course, only a matter of time before they ended up wanting to be more than that, and so, they officially had became a couple. Hidden from all the others, of course, they always met with each other when they had a chance, and sometimes, one went to the other temple to get this chance to come faster, as Gale seemed to have planned to do that night.

Well, her going to his temple was one thing. Now _he_ going to _her_ temple was _very_ different. Besides being probably mistreated in the gates and having his entrance forbidden, he could also get into a lot of trouble with her father if he said he was there to see her. She barely even minded what her father would do with _her_ , it worried her what he would do with Gale. Of course, her cult never was the kind that had some strange gossip going around, like sacrifices or getting rid of certain individuals. But she was pretty sure that if her father knew about them, not only he had ways of making Gale suddenly disappear, but he also could make sure that no one would ever know what had been his fate. Oberon shuttered at this thought. But she was quickly distracted when Gale gave her a quick kiss on the lips, making her blush and giggle a little. Yeah, only he could distract her from her worries like that. That was why she truly loved him.

He looked at her, and he said "Well, since we are both away from the watchful eyes of our guardians, why don't we do something good with our night?" He smiled at her "Maybe a little kissing in the moonlight, or maybe a walking under the watch eyes of the stars, I'm pretty sure they will not give us in to them, they always seemed to be able to keep secrets." She giggled when he said that "Or maybe, we could avoid this and maybe do a little of our training? What do you say? I have a new move I have wanted to show you."

She knew exactly what he was talking about, and under normal circumstances, she would love to see this new move. The training he was referring to was a little thing that they both discovered that they had in common, and that had come at them both quite naturally. It was a thing that they both had to keep secret from the others, and even from their own groups. Gale kept his' a secret because he was afraid that, if the others discovered, they would get scared and would reject him. Oberon, well, she was not so worried about the part of being an outcast, she already was, in a way. She was worried that, if hers was came to light, her father would make a fuss about it, and take it as another sight that she was really send by the great Draconia, and he would make a fuss even bigger about it publically.

They both had kept this secret from others, and since they discovered each other's, they agreed in a heartbeat to keep the secret, and they finally got someone to talk to about this that they could not talk with anyone else. So they even started their own routine of training, to learn more about their… how to call it?.. Gifts. And soon, they both were improving into them, via mutual support and help. They both were quickly growing, and was this dedication to their particular abilities and the support to their growing, that was one of the things that led them into becoming even closer and then, turning from friends into a very happy, secret and very faithful couple that they were today.

She sighed, wishing that this meeting could have been under better circumstances so she could see the new trick he had. She always loved his tricks, for they were very good and they were also very beautiful to watch. Gale had a talent. But she had another thing to do in the present moment. She sighed, as she said "It will have to be later, I have a thing to do."

"Huh?" said Gale, looking at her, she sighed, and she said "I really have a thing to do now. I have to get to the market." She sadi, and she tutned around to leave, only for Gale toi walk by her side.

"I'll go with you." He said in the same moment "A gentlemen must never leave a lady walk around there on her own in a night like this."

"I can take care of myself, yah know?"

"Yet, It is never bad to have a trustworthy companionship for walking in the night. Better safe than sorry, right?" he said, offering a smile to her, and she chuckled, as she knew that he was coming with her, she liked it or not. She could do nothing more than to accept his company. She actually liked that. So, they both walked side by side, both happy for being with the other, while Oberon only hoped that it had been under better circumstances.

"So, what you will be doing in the market this late at night?" Gale asked her. He foundit strange for her to walk around the city this late. Sure, they already had some nocturnal meetings, but he never saw her walking around like that, into a cloak. They had always went to parts where they were not needed, parts where no one would see them, and consequently, no one would possibly recognize her. Sure, she already had gone to parts where she had to wear something that would prevent her from begin recognized with somethings like that cloak. But going there this late? This was somewhat intriguing to him.

Oberon looked at him for a moment, wondering if she should tell or not, before she remembered that it was Gale, and that she could trust him completely. Still, she looked to the sides, and she whispered to him. "I want to see if someone can give a god price for these ones." As she raised the cloak just enough to reveal the golden bracer on her wrists.

Gale looked at the beautiful pieces for a moment, before he finally was able to put two and two together. At first he was shocked, for Oberon was the last person he would expect to make something such as robbery. However, he soon calmed down as she explained to him that she had done it to help others, and then it really looked like something that Oberon would do. She always loved to help the less fortunate. If she had not been born into her father's cult, she would possibly have become a member of his temple. She had all the characterizes of that.

However, he was now more worried about Oberon. For her father would most likely not be understanding on what she was doing and neither into way. Her cult was known for putting dragons above all other creatures, and they put the dragons who belonged to their own cult above all other dragons. They were to exactly the kind that would be happy to share things with other, unless it would be highly of their own interest. He knew that if she was caught because of this there were going to be consequences.

BIG consequences.

"You are taking a dangerous shot." He said to her, and she smiled back "I like risks, you know that."

He smiled back at her, she sounded the brave kind, and yet, he could see in her eyes that deep inside she was a little scared. She was still able to smile and to fight over like it was nothing serious. That was another one of the things he admired in her, other than her free spirit and her strong mind: her bravery. He could only chuckle as he shook his head, and he maybe started considering the possibility of maybe, if she was caught, they could offer her asylum into their temple. It would not be that bad, if he could convince the other priest to approve it. Well, at least they would hear his request and maybe actually think of it.

So, they both walked along into the city, and soon, they were getting near the market. The place was still open at night, even in the darkest hours. Sure, there were less people in the street, and the ones which were usually were after something that would not be sold or bought in the middle of the day. Usually it was items acquired through suspect methods, or some strange herbs that were not meant to be found during daylight. Sure, most of them were bought by the temples and by the healing houses, to be used into ceremonies and into some treatments and also to fabricate medicines. Yet, there were some that bought them for their "particular use", so to speak. There were some herbs came from other parts of the continent that could have very interesting effects into an individual if they were used in certain ways.

However, their interest was not in there. They were not in there to buy anything; they were there to find a buyer. They both walked across the street, Oberon doing her best to keep her appearance hidden, and Gale, well, he was not too worried. He was usually seem in public only with his official priest clothing, which consisted into a long cloth to cover his body and a few ornaments into his legs and neck, and also some on his horns. He usually didn't went out much, and as result, most people didn't knew what he looked like, and thus, they didn't recognized him without the priest clothes.

They walked together across the place as Gale was very close to her, ready to fend her off against any kind that thought that he could come to her and try anything funny. Sure, she could fend for herself, but she would risk exposing herself if she did, in more ways than one. There are things that both she and Gale still wanted to keep as secrets, at least for the time being. It took them a while of searching around, but they eventually had found a bank that was maybe something that could buy their material.

This back was full of several very expensive looking jewelry, and also some works of art nearby, like statues and small things. The owner of the bank was a orange colored dragon who looked like he was rather thin, actually, he almost seemed feminine. He also was using a lot of jewelry, maybe too much for a male. His wing-membrane where of a bright yellow, and his eyes were also a bright shade of pink, and he looked at them as they came closer.

"Hello there!" he said, rathe enthusiastically "Welcome to my humble bank! There is anything that the happy couple want? Maybe a new necklace for the lady?" he asked, and his way of talking fit with his appearance, both in the happiness that it reflected, and also in the slightly feminine tone that he had, despite him being clearly a male. He also used gesticulation, and he looked at them as they shared a look. "Oh, don't know what to buy? Well, I have a lot of things in here that are very gopd and would fit a dragoness into any kind of event she went! A dragoness who is beautiful is a dragoness who is happy! As my dear mother used to say! You want this beautiful dragoness to be happy, don't you?"

His question was directed at Gale, who only looked at him for a few moments, and then he said, somewhat hesitantly "I… hum… yes, I love to see her happy…" but he barely had time to finish the phrase before the orange dragon continued.

"Ahhhh, of course you does! You are lucky, girl, he wants to make you happy and he cares for your feelings, and I thinking that he was only beautiful. These ones are very rare." He said as he winked at Gale suggestively, leaving the grey dragon stunned, and he whispered at Oberon "I would hold tight on him if I were you."

Oberon couldn't help but chuckle a little at this orange dragon. He seemed to be very… vibrant. She kind of liked his way, while Gale seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable, specially by the way the dragon looked at him, almost as if he was a piece of meat on display on a restaurant. It made Gale want to use his wings to cover all of his body form the eyes of that seemingly predatory creature. Oberon noticed that her partner was slightly uncomfortable, and so, she decided to move on with things. "Actually, we didn't came here to buy anything." She said, making the orange dragon look at her "We came here to sell."

"Oh, really?" the orange dragon said, still looking happy. "Well, I love to see dragonesses get beautiful with jewels, but I also _love_ having new ones in my bank! And don't worry, I'm not of these who try to fool others to get more money be telling them their things are fake to pay less. But I must warm you, I have a limit of how much I'm willing to pay, and I only buy a thing if it is really beautiful. So, what do you have for little me?"

Yeah, the dragon indeed seemed to have a very vibrant personality, and he seemed to be honest, at least. Oberon smiled at him "Yeah, I think I have something that will be worth your time." She said as she reached under her cloak to the bracers that were on her wrists. She knew that he was going to pay less than the market place, but she was willing to take it. Any money that she could get to help others was more than welcome, and she was sure that he was still going to pay a good amount for the bracers, they seemed to be pure gold and the trimming in it was intricate and beautiful, not to mention the gems. She was pretty sure that she was going to get a fair amount of gold for that.

"It is really beautiful, and I think you will find it to be very- huh?" she said as she reached the bracers. In the moment she tried to pull them out, she discovered that they were not coming out. The bracers had easily slid past her paws when she put them into the temple, to be able to carry them without calling attention. However, the one on her left paw now seemed to be tighter around her wrist, in a way that now he seemed to be too tight to slid off. She tried with the other one, and she tugged it and tried to turn it slowly, but she only could make it scratch her skin lightly under the metal. Like the other, it also didn't moved.

What was going on?

Both the dragon and Gale looked at the hooded dragoness, as she seemed to be getting nervous about something. "Young lady, there is a problem?" asked the owner of the bank, and Oberon looked at him "What? No, I mean, maybe not." And she started tugging the bracers in her legs a bit harder, and as a result, it was starting to get pain in her. She groaned as she tried to remove them, but they seemed now to be too tight to slide by her paws.

"Obe." Gale said, using her nickname to avoid calling her by her name "What is going on?" he asked at her, and she looked at him, and at the seller, who was also looking at her worriedly.

She approached Gale, and she whispered "The bracers… they… they are not coming out."

"What?" asked Gale, and Oberon looked at the seller, and she said "Will you excuse us for a moment?" and they both walked to a little far from the bank, and they stood away, and Gale asked, "What do you mean by 'they don't come out'?"

"I don't know." Oberon said, still tugging gently at the bracers on her wrists "I put them on when I was in the temple to take them out, but now, they seem to be stuck."

"You had to struggle a lot to put them?"

"No, this is the strange part. Actually, when I put them they slid rather easily, and they were even a little loose. But now they don't move, it is like they have gotten smaller." And indeed, for the first time since coming out of the temple, Oberon noticed that the bracers on her indeed felt a little snugger. It really felt like they had shrunk in her body, and now they felt like they were hugging her wrists tightly, as if they didn't wanted to be taken out. She knew that it was somewhat ridiculous to think that a pair of bracers would do it, but it seemed to be exactly what had happened.

Gale looked at her, and he said, "Let me see them." Oberon looked around, and she gently raised her cloak just enough for Gale to see her paws and the bracers. He looked at the bracers from under the cloak, they were indeed beautiful, golden and with beautiful trimming and decoration with precious stones, and they really seemed to fit snuggly around her wrists, even though they didn't seemed to be snug enough to cause some damage by themselves or to cut out her circulation.

The grey dragon reached out and touched one of them with his paw, and it was slightly cold at the touch. He grabbed it a little better and started pulling gently. It was not moving, and then he started to turn it slowly around the wrist much like Oberon had done moments ago, only to find that it was not coming out. He started pulling a little harder at it, but he stopped as soon as Oberon started to show signs of discomfort. And then, he just looked at the bracers, and looking at the size they had now, they would not even pass by her paws. It would be amazing if she had put them on her wrists if they already had this size, what only made more believable her affirmation that they had changed _after_ she had put them on.

"How can a bracer shrink like that?" asked Gale in a low voice, and Oberon didn't knew how to answer. She was thinking about the explanation right now. Could it be that the bracers were magic? They could notice that she stole them and they decided to play a prank on her by getting stuck in her body? Could this be a new anti-theft system that her father was testing? This last one deeply worried her. Not only because she was not going to be able to sell them, but also because she was probably going to have them stuck around her wrists until someone could remove them, and this someone would most likely be someone from her cult. And what if the bracers had some short of "alarm"? What if they already knew that they had been stolen and were after her in that same moment? Oh boy, that might have been the worse idea she ever had in her whole life!

"Gale, I have to take them out!" she whispered urgently "I can 't walk back in the temple with them on me like that!"

Gale looked at her, and he said "Okay, okay! Look, lets walk a round a little, maybe there is someone who can… what is that?" he said, suddenly looking over, and Oberon turned to look what he was looking at. She saw what seemed to be a mass in the darkness, which seemed to be illuminated by an orange glow. She had to look a little more to realize that it was a column of smoke that was rising in direction to the sky, and the glow that was coming from below over it was most likely a fire.

"Seems like there is a fire." She said, and after a while, Gale said "Oberon…" she looked at him, to see some kind of fear on his face "Isn't that your temple?"

Her eyes widened as she looked back, and she saw that the fire indeed, seemed to be in the same direction that her own temple was. She felt her heart drop as she realized what was going on. Her temple, the temple where she grew up and that she had called home, was on fire. She immediately felt a rush of fear and apprehension run over her whole body, as she thought about the others that were in the temple in that moment. Men, women, elders, children. And her father.

She felt a wave of horror as she imagined her father in the middle of the fire, without having how to escape. She didn't even had to think twice before she started running in direction to he fire, and Gale soon had to go after her.

"Obe! Wait!" he called, but he was ignored. Oberon now was barely even thinking about the money or about the bracers, nor about that she had sneaked away hidden from her father. All that she was thinking about now was to arrive at the temple as fast as possible to help her father. To see if he was okay and to see if he needed help. Because, even if he didn't not understood her, even if he was too much controller and too prejudiced, even if he sometimes really drove her completely mad, he was her father, and he was maybe the only family that she had.

As they both ran past the streets, they started hearing a crowd forming, and they ran past them as if they were running away from something. They had scared expressions on their faces and they were screaming for someone to cal the guard, for there was an attack. For what they were saying, there was someone attacking the temple, and they were not for playing around. They were attacking the temple and they were also starting to attack the nearby houses, and they had set fire into it.

All of that she was hearing only made Oberon run faster in direction to her home as she was panting. Who were they? Why were they attacking? If they had hurt her father or anyone else she swear to Draconia that she was never going to forgive them!

She ran past the scared people, and she saw some of them. They were bulky dragons wearing armors made out of iron and branded with a symbol she didn't recognized. It looked like a dragon skull, or something of the like. They all were carrying heavy weapons, like axes and clubs, and they seemed to be patrolling the area, as if to be sure that no one would come.

By the looks of these dragons, many would have thought twice before facing them, and they would have decided to turn around and run. But Oberon was not like most dragons.

She ran straight to their direction, and they saw her immediately. In the same moment, one of the dragons stepped forward, and he said with a strong voice "Hey! You!" but Oberon barely gave him attention, she opened her mouth, as if to scream, and she let out the air escape by her open maw. This air, however, took the shape of a strong gust of wind in the shape of a hurricane, and this one hit the dragon and sent him flying back.

The others looked completely stunned as their partner was sent away flying, and they both turned to the hooded dragoness right in time to see her breathe a small tornado, that moved into the ground and encompassed one of them, making him spin quickly, and then it threw him upwards, only for him to fall back to the ground. And then, the last one looked scared at the hooded dragoness, in the same moment that she swept her claw, and he felt a sudden rush of wind hit him from the side, and he was threw into a nearby building, and he crashed straight through the wall, raising dust.

"This is what you get for attacking my home." Oberon said as she walked, she didn't noticed that the dragon hit by her tornado was getting up. She only heard his cry for battle as she turned around to see him jumping in her direction with his axe ready for battle. But he didn't even stood a chance to lay a blow on hr, for in that moment, a thundering cloud hit him, and the unfortunate dragon was electrocuted by the mix of heavy water and the pure electricity that crackled on the cloud. He was unconscious far before he even hit the ground.

"I told you to wait for me!" said Gale as he came out, puffs of the storm cloud that hit the guy still coming out of his mouth. That was the secret that he and Oberon kept, this strange ability that they had of seemingly "breathing" natural elements. Oberon could breath wind, and also control it, while Gale seemed to have affinity with all the elements of the storm.

Oberon looked at him "I don't have time, I gotta save my father!" she said, letting it clear that he was not going to make her change her mind. He looked at her, and he said "Okay, but from now on stay close to me. We will save them together."

That was all that took, and soon, they were approaching again, fast, but now they both made their best efforts to stay out of sight from the enemy. They quickly approached the gates, only to find a small group of the dragons who formed the cult, and among them was Nereon. He was beaten and he had blood on his right foreleg, which he was clutching strongly. Around them there was a group of dragons who looked like the enemies, since they were as bulky as them and were wearing the same armors with the same symbol.

All the dragons of the cult looked scared as they were circled by the enemy, and soon, one of them, a bulky dark-brown dragon stopped forward to an even bigger an bulkier dragon, this one with a great axe. "These are the only survivors, sir." The brown dragon said to the one that seemed to be the leader. "All the others are dead."

Oberon felt her heart falling when she heard it. There should be around 400 dragons into their cult, including males, females, elders and children. Counting now, she could see only seventeen survivors, including three children. They had killed all the others. She felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she thought about all the ones that had died.

How they dared… She was going to make them pay…

"And the bracers?" the bulkier dragon asked, and the smaller one said, "We didn't found it anywhere."

Bracers?

Oberon's head perked as she looked past her hood to the bulkier dragon, who growled as he stepped forward, and it was possible to see his form into the light. His muscles were big and they all bulged. His scales were rust-colored and his body was covered in scars. He had a spiked mace-shaped tailblade. However, what most called attention on him were his eyes. They were black like the starless sky, and looking at them made Oberon have, even from that distance, the feeling of looking inside a bottomless pit while she was standing on the edge of it.

The dragon stood in front of his captives, and he said "We are searching for a particular treasure, that you recently offered to Draconia as an offer!" he looked at all of them, and they shared a look. It was because of one of the offers? They attacked and destroyed their temple and killed many because of one piece of art or some gold?

"It is a pair of bracers!" he said, ignoring their expressions, looking at each one of them "They are made of gold and decorated with precious gems! We already know that they are in here, so is no use trying to hide! Juts give them to us and we will let you live!"

Oberon felt her stomach making a turn when she heard it, she looked at the bracers he was most likely talking about, the ones in her wrists. All of that was because of them? They looked to be precious, sure, but they were worth all of that?

"Tell me where it is!" the dragon in the black armor ordered "Now!" All the other dragons flinched, even his own subordinates. The dragons who posed as his prisoners whimpered in fear, and even Nereon looked scared. "I-if it is an offer it must be in the offer room." One o fthe dragons said "Any object that is an offer is left in there…"

The bulky dragon snarled at him "Don't play games with me! It was the first place we looked into!" he practically roared "If it was in there we would have found it! Now, tell me where you have hidden it, and I may _consider_ letting you live!"

They all cornered in fear, and then, Nereon finally had heard enough. He stepped forward, and he said "You think you can scare us?" the bulky dragon looked at him, as well as the rest of the members of his cult, and Gale and Oberon from their hiding spot. What was he doing?

"You are not able to scare us with simply shows of strength!" he said vehemently, and the bulky dragon started walking in his direction slowly, and the dragon only continued "We will never fear brute creatures like you! You may attack us, take our homes and all we have! But our faith will always give us power to overcome any challenge or danger that may appear! We have Draconia by our si-AHK!" he was suddenly cut out when the black-eyed dragon grabbed his neck tightly with his paw.

He bared his teeth at him, and he said, "Look around you, priest." And Nereon only looked at him as he fought to free himself "If Draconia was truly on your side, like your pathetic religion says, wouldn't she have stopped what we done?" Nereon could nto answer due to the lack of air, he was struggling madly to free himself. Then, he was threw at the ground, where he gasped for air as the big dragon said aloud "I'll kill each one of you until you tell me where are the bracers! Starting by your leader!" and he looked down at Nereon, who was till in the ground, and he raised his axe "Your goddess is not here tonight, priest."

"NO!"

The dragon barely had time to raise his head to look who had screamed before he was blown away by a strong gush of winds. The others all looked in shock as he flew away, as they turned their heads in time to see another dragoness, a purple one, with a cloak being carried by the wind around her, which seemed to move according to her will. "Stay away from my father!" she screamed as she made strong gestures with her paws, and the air currents threw the attacking dragons away, as if they were leaves in the middle of the storm. She was barely minding that her father and the others of her cult were staring at her as she was fighting them with what could only be described as "magic powers", as she was too worried on making sure that the ones that were left would survive.

"She has the bracers!" screamed the leader "Get her!"

And that was what it took for a group of dragons to come over her. However, they barely had a chance to even touch her, as Gale suddenly started flying around her, casting behind himself a trail of thundering clouds that electrocuted everyone who tried to come close.

The dragons around looked in fear and amazement at the two dragons, as they both started fighting off. The years they had spent honing their abilities in secret had paid off, as they had become practically masters at it.

They were holding their ground, until one of the dragons grabbed Oregon by the foot and pulled her down. She was slammed in the ground, and recovered in time to see the leader of the attackers over her. He breathe over her, as he grabbed her wrist and pulled harshly "Give me the bracers!" he roared as he pulled, almost pulling her legs off.

"I can't!" Oberon screamed as she tried to get rid of him "They don't come out!"

He got his axe. Gale looked at him, and he screamed "Obe!" and he tried to fly to her, but the goons of the bulky dragon got on his way, and he was forced to keep fighting them. While this, the dragon with balck eyes said to Oberon "Than I'll cut your legs and take them with me!" He was serious, it was possible to see in his eyes. Oberon was about to cry out, when another dragon came over him, grabbing his raised leg.

"Stay away from my daughter!" Nereon screamed as the bulky dragon snarled at him, and was able to shake him off, but not before Oberon could free herself enough to raise her paw in his direction. She was able to grab his head, and when she did that, the bracers in her wirsts shone as images and sounds flashed in her mind.

* * *

 _The bracers were shining. Each gem glowed._

 _Several dragons, shining silhouettes._

 _"The destined ones…"_

 _War. Scenes of violent battles. Blood._

 _"They must die…"_

 _One shadow in the darkness. Eyes red and glo0wing with malice._

 _"The bracers… Get them… no matter what… kill however stands in the way!"_

* * *

Oberon gasped as the bulky dragon slid off her, seeming to be shaken, and so was she.

What was that?

She barely had time to react when the bulky dragon recovered, and he roared loudly as he raised his axe. She barely had time to scream before it came down at her.

But the blade never touched her. It hit another thing that had got in the way. It was Nereon. He had threw himself in the way, and the blade penetrated on his back, and it was possible to see it coming out through his chest.

Oberon gasped in horror as she saw it, her father looked down at her, panting, a little blood coming out of his mouth.

The bulky dragon was suddenly grabbed by what seemed to e a hand of stormy clouds and threw away. His axe stayed in Nereon's body, an he fell to the ground.

"Dad!" Oberon said, as she rushed over him, and she looked at him, as he looked back at her. He looked at her face, and raised his paw to wipe out a single tear that ran down her face. He smiled, as he rasped "Run…" and then, just like that, he winced, and he closed his eyes, his body stopping.

Oberon looked at him in horror as she saw that he had died. She breathed heavily as tears flowed form her face. But she didn't had time to cry, for Gale came by her side, and he said "Obe! We gotta do something!"

She looked over, to see them all around her. The survivors had already escaped, but now they were surrounded by the goons, and their leader was ready to give the order to attack.

The bracers.

They were the cause of all of that. They wanted it for something important. They could not get. She didn't knew why but she knew that they could not get. They would hunt them for the bracers, and she knew that. They would go away form the city, and leave all the citizens alone.

"Gale! Stormy Tornado, now!" she said to him, and he looked at her for a moent, before nodding. Soon, he opened his wings, and a great cloud of storm formed form them. At the same time, Oberon spun her wings quickly, creating a tornado-like wind that spread the storm all around them.

The dragons all around were blinded and shocked at the same time, and also deafened by the strong sound of the wind. Oberon and Gale both took this chance to flap their wings, and fly away.

The tornado would resist for sometime, and it would take long for the goons to realize that they had escaped. Until them, they had to be at a fair distance of advantage form them.

Now they were on the run.


	12. Sturdy as Steel and Passion as Love, P1

The city of Dohoranter was into the near edge of the country. It was a place known specially for the beautiful beaches, that made up the bays of that city that was near the sea. They were also known for being home for some of the best poets and artists of the kingdom, and also for their forgers, some of the best pieces of worked metal came from this city. There was a great demand all around the kingdom and on neighbor kingdoms for their works of metallurgy, be it on weapons or decoration or any other functions, as tools or some pieces of other works.

Indeed, this place was known for both art and efficiency in both of these areas. Their blacksmiths and artists were known all around the kingdom, and taken by many as the bests in the world. But sure, that didn't meant that had equal importance, at least not in the eyes of the community.

The artists were taken more as thinkers, and as so, they were more related to the study and also they were more focused on the thinking and the erudition, and also, they got more involved with the noble part pf the city. As a result, the artists themselves were nobles, and they usually were involved only with the more refined and noble parts of the city. They socialized with only the noblest, and they attended only to the finest parties, and they grew all used to the finest and best of the things. They were admired and envied by everybody and they took all the right cares and all the kinds of behaviors that should normally be expected of people of great social status, as they all had.

The blacksmiths, on the other hand, despite doing some of the best and finest works of metal, were not as cherished. They were mainly made by heavy workers, and as so, they usually secluded to their own work and didn't socialized as much as the artists did, ad not with the same circles. Also, for their hard work they tended to be bigger and bulkier, and also, they seemed to be more brute in their ways, caring less for their appearance and also being less refined, so to speak. As a result of this, the blacksmiths, though making amazing works, that almost always were both beautiful and very useful, did not received as much glamour as the artists. Actually, they were even taken as some brutes, and mostly as ignorant that only relied on their physical force, and who were devoid of any social skills. In few words, they were taken only as workers and, consequently, they ended being almost second-class citizens, being usually away from the highest classes, and so, there was a very clear social difference between them and the artists.

The artists lived in the most luxurious houses near he best parts of the city. The blacksmiths lived into old houses made out of wood and even from stone, into the outskirts and into poorest parts of the city. The artists had the best of friendships, being near the most socially important and influent people of the city, and usually going on to the most luxurious parties. The blacksmiths were usually away from the social life, and they made friends usually with other blacksmiths or with their closest neighbors, what only reinforced the belief in their lack of social ability. The artists were usually rich, and they tended to always be surrounded by the best and the most expensive things that money could buy in that city. The blacksmiths were usually paid enough only to have their fill and to have their own necessities, and so, they usually were happy if they had any food, and even if they had interest in art, they didn't had the mine needed to buy these big and fancy things. And usually, the objects they had on their houses usually were not as beautiful as the things that they did on their own workshops to be should by people who could pay far more.

Finally, the artists had all the resources to gran that their kids would have the best and most renowned education of the city that the money could buy, making them study story and also all the things that had to do with their work and that were essential to know when you are from a high class. The blacksmiths, on the other paw, barely had money for education, so most of it was done at home, what meant that the education was poor and usually was not very much. Most of the blacksmiths in the city only knew how to make mathematic equations, and some of them barely knew how to read and only knew how to write their own names. But they learned all that they needed about their own line of work, and about how to work metal and how to do their best with the few resources that they had in their paws. As a result, if you grew into a family of artists, you would become an artist, and it you were form a blacksmith family, you would become a blacksmith. That was almost an unofficial rule about how life and things worked into that city. That was just the way things were around that city.

Due to having so much different lifestyles related to their professions, it was actually no surprise that artists and blacksmiths; despite both having admired works, had actually nothing in common. So, they didn't got along well even in the slightest. The artist thought of the blacksmiths as ignorant brutes that had nothing in the brain and were the most impolite and usually used violence to solve their problems. The blacksmiths, on their own place, saw the artists as nothing more than spoiled and fancy guys with arrogant attitude that thought themselves to be above everyone else and who spent most of their time doing things that they most likely didn't understood and didn't cared about. And they spent the rest of their time in good life and only in relaxing, what lead them to become lazy and also to become skinny and weak, unable to do some "real work" other than work with ink and to sing along fancy words to entertain a crowd.

In just a few words, they had absolutely no relation with each other, and they had the worst possible opinion about each other based on their own experiences. They had absolutely nothing in common, and they were most likely never going to be on god terms or even a good relationship with each other. They even had met into some occasions and all these meetings ended up messed up. And that only reinforced that artists and blacksmiths belonged to different worlds, and that they definitely did _not_ belonged together.

However, there was still some who refused to think like that.

Into a luxurious house in the center of the city, a house that practically screamed that who lived in there had a good living. It was big and nicely made, and even the insides of it let it clear that whoever had this house owned a lot of money, and had not spared a single coin in order to have that house ready. It was clear that this house belonged to a rich family, and in this specific case, it was a family of artists.

They were the Strongheart, a very renowned family of reckoned artists He was a rather thing dragon with ruby-colored scales and silvery underbelly and wing-membrane, and he had long horns on his head. Strong Strongheart was known for being the best cohort poet in the town, and he was famous for making the best poetry that could only be described by the ones who heard it as "pictures in to form of words" and that could make kings cry. He was one of the most renowned artists in the city, and he was as famous and praised as his wife.

She was Lovax Strongheart, one famous singer around. She was a very beautiful dragones, with bright-pink scales in her body and purple colored underbelly and wing-membrane., She had four long, curved and slender horsn on her head and and her eyes were amber colored. She was called only to sing into the most renowned show houses in the city, and sometimes in neighbor cities. She was known for her amazing voice, and the ones who had heard her singing could swear that she sang juts like an angel. That had earned her the nickname "the angel of the songs". She was whished and envied by all the dragons and dragonesses in the kingdom due to her amazing voice and all the riches she achieved by being so gifted. And sure, this made her husband, the one who had the luck of taking her as his wife, being envied by all other dragons around, who wished to have such a rare beauty as her for themselves.

Together, they were known for being the most famous artists in town, and they were, of course, one of the richest and dearest families in the whole city, and actually, in that part of the kingdom. They were famous and they were rich and they only went to the best places and only socialized with the richest and most influent in the city, people who were "at their level" as they said themselves. After all, people in their position, with their riches and fame, could not afford socializing with just anyone.

And of course, they insisted that the same applied to their daughter.

She was in her room now, in her big and wide bed, that had sheets made out of the finest linen that could be found in the kingdom, all of that imported in order to make that expensive bed sheet. She laid her head into a pillow made out of fine linen, filled with the best swan feathers. She was bright pink in color, with white underbelly, and slender and very pleasurable figure on herself, and she had golden long horns on her head. Her tailblade was shaped like a heart, somehow, and her pink colored eyes were focused on the ceiling.

Her name was Lovix and she was the only child of Strong and Lovax, and she was their dearest treasure. She was such a rare sight for any eyes. She was wielder of a rare beauty, which many said she had gotten from her mother. She was not only known for her beauty, though, she was also known by having a beauty and a character that rivaled with said beauty. And now only that, but she also had an amazing voice for singing. Some said that she was almost as talented in it as her mother had been on her age. And she showed a particular talent into the epic singings about the past deeds. It was almost like a mix of both her parents talents, something that both of them were totally proud of. They both knew that with the right guidance and with lots of training, she could become one of the best in the world.

She sighed as she turned on her bed, and looked up the ceiling. The day had been somewhat tiring to her, and she was ready to relax. Of course, she never complained about her routine, it was just a bit tiring. First there were her scholar lessons, and then, there were lessons of etiquette and then lessons of history and economy. And then there were singing lessons and also lessons of poetry. And after all of that, there were still some other lessons, like playing some instruments, and also some dancing. And after all of that, there were still the social compromises, like going onto parties and onto important meetings of her parents, and in which they insisted her to be in there too.

People usually thought that the lives of the artists were full of glamour and magic, but it was almost like being in a race, going from on compromise to the other and only stopping when you were to go to sleep. It was somehow exhausting, and they seemed not to catch a break at any moment. Well, at least it was Lovix's impression, as she had to keep going from one place to the other.

It was tiring, especially to her, and she wished to take a day off this if possible, but it seemed that her parents still wanted her to be jumping from one thing to the other all the time. If things kept like this it was going to be one moment in that she just won't be able to keep up anymore, and of course, she was going to be letting a lot of people down, starting with her fathers.

They expected a lot of her. But that was normal, after all, they were her parents, and wanted her to be the best she could. But it did not helped that they were the most famous artists of the city, and so, they wanted her to be as good as they were, if not better. Not only that, but also, the fame of her parents also made everyone around her expect nothing but the very best of her, as her teachers pushed her hard and everybody expected to hear only good things from her, especially her parents' friends. This way some people would regret having been born with such famous and talented parents, if they knew that they would have to do beyond their best to please everyone.

And wasn't only that, but also the whole lot of people who came as if to try to enjoy your shine. Lovix already saw it in all parts around her parents, like people who tried top strike deals or political alliances with them, or who simply wanted to gain something from them, or simply take out some of the spotlights on them by being seem by everyone as their friends, but they were only interested on themselves. And Lovix herself had to deal with some of those. They were the kids of the friends of the family, or the kids of other people who frequented their same circles, and who were from "rightful families" as her parents had put on. Many of them had a lot to talk to her about, like some deals for when she was older, and some even offering to help take care of her money and of her career when she was ready to follow the footsteps of her parents. There were a lot of these dragons who wanted to make friends with her, and also, there was already some who claimed that they were her "pretenders", or whatever else they called themselves now. They kept buzzing around her like ravenous beasts, as if they were ready to pick up all that would be left in her way when she was taking the fruits of success.

They were just so fake! It made Lovix really want to get out of there and search for people who wanted to truly be with her, not because of her family or of her possible talent, but because of her. Because of who she was and of her own personality, and because she was snice to be around and funny. She wanted near her someone who was true and who was sincere, and who was wanting to really be near her and to be her friend, or more. Someone like…

The sound of something hitting her window suddenly caught her attention.

She looked over just in time to see what seemed to be small pebbles hitting the glass of her window. Her heart seemed to jump as she got up and rushed to the window. She opened it and looked outside in her balcony.

The night was fresh and there were stars illuminating the night, along with the dim light of the crescent moon. Still, there was light enough to see the garden which gave access to her balcony, sand all the flowers and trees which populated it. Her mother was to make sure that the garden was beautiful, along with everything else in their house, so she had a whole team designed only to take cared of that garden, and many of the flowers in there were coming from other parts of the country, only to be planted I there due to her beauty. Of course, this all collaborated to create one of the most beautiful gardens in the area, and this was a reason to admiration and also to envy by the neighbors, and her mother was very proud of it.

At first sight, the garden seemed empty, as it was to expect into a night like that. However, Lovix had learned a long time ago to not let herself be guided only by the appearances. She smiled as she started humming to herself, a very specific song, as she looked at the garden, and then, she sang a few notes, letting her voice echo in the garden just slightly.

She remained in silence after that, as if she was waiting for something. And soon, it came the sound that seemed of a owl. However, this owl seemed to be strange, and who was hearing it would take it that there was something wrong with it. Lovix, however, smiled, and she sang a few more notes, and soon, a figure stepped out of the darkness of the garden, from under a tree. It was a dragon.

This dragon was very bulky, with muscles on his body and on his legs, they all surely looking like they had came from a lot of hard work. His scales were dark-grey in color, and they somehow glistened very slightly under the moonlight. His underbelly was black colored, and it seemed even blacker in the night, and he had two curved, goat-like and strong horns on his head. His tailblade was axe-shaped, and his eyes were amber colored, and they shone under the light of the moon, and they seemed to shine brighter as he looked at the dragoness up her balcony, and she also seemed to have a shine in her eyes as she looked back at him, both of them had smiles in their lips. Lovix smiled softly in her perfect lips, and the dragon showed a toothy smile on his rough muzzle.

"Lovix!" the dragon said in a strong voice, and the dragoness up the balcony looked down at him smiling, as she said back "I was wondering if you would come!"

They had to keep their voice down, for they didn't wanted to be caught by her parents. The dark-grey dragon looked down, seeming ashamed, and he said "There was some work in the forgery. My father kept me working till late tonight, and I had to wait for him to sleep to get a chance of sneaking out."

Lovix looked at him. She was not angry at him in any way, she would never be. She was just happy that he finally could arrive and she could hear his voice again. It was deep and some would say that it was out of timber, but to her, it was a beautiful sound that she just loved to be able to hear.

"Its okay, Surge." She said, calling the name of the dragon, and making him look up at her "I'm just happy that I can see you now."

He smiled back at her, and he said, "So, we are going?"

She smiled down at him, and she said "Just let me get ready and we can go." And she went back inside. She had to be careful, for she did not wanted to make a single sound, but she also had to be fast, for she didn't wanted to leave Surge waiting.

She quickly grabbed a long coat and she also grabbed a few coins, just in case, and soon, she was dressing it, covering all of her body. She made sure it was going to hide her, for she didn't wanted to be recognized, and so, she went outside, back to her balcony, and locked the door behind herself as she turned back to Surge, who was still waiting patiently for her in the outside.

The smile on his face was enough to make her mile too, and she flapped her wings as quietly as she could, and she gently floated to out of her balcony, and gently landed in the ground, right in front of the dragon named Surge.

This dragon walked forward, and stood in front of her, looking to her face through the cloak, and he said, "You are beautiful."

"You say that everytime."

"Because it is true." He said, and he leaned forward, and planted a kiss in her lips, which she gently returned. Her lips were soft and very smooth, while Surge's lips were hard and somewhat rough, however, Lovix barely minded, she loved kissing him, and she would never rather kiss anyone else.

Surge was the only one who she loved, and he was the one who she wished to spent the rest of her life. She just wished her family could understand it.

They broke the kiss after a moment, and looking deep into his sweet eyes was enough to make her relax in all her worries and fears. "Where are we going tonight?" she asked him with her singing voice, and he smiled back.

"I have a surprise for you."

She already knew she was going to like it.

"Come with me." He said, and he walked in front of her, while she followed, and soon she was walking right by his side.

These two made quite a pair. Lovix was slender and very beautiful, and she had a kind of grace that you expect from dancers in her steps, as if she was walking carefully into a field of flowers and she was surely not going to crush anyone under her clawed paws.

Surge, however, was a clearly rougher figure. He walked with strong steps, and they didn't had even by far the same grace and coordination that Lovix had. His rude way was much more fitting with some kind of arm work than with anything else.

And indeed, it was true, for Surge was a blacksmith.

He had come from a traditional blacksmith family, the Stronghold. They were quite known for being the best blacksmiths that the city ever had. Their works in iron and metal of all kinds were highly appraised and there was a big demand for them around. However, the family itself was not much know for this talent.

As said before, Artists received much honors and all regalia, while the blacksmiths were mostly poor. And it included Surge's family. They worked most of the day to make all kinds of works in iron, which were in huge demand due for them being the best, and yet, they received only enough from this to be able to live fairly nice, but still, unable to really spend a lot or show that they were rich, which, of course, they were not.

They worked much for little gain, and sure, this reflected in their everyday lives. For having so much work they barely socialized, even with the rest of the people on their own neighborhood, so they had little connections, and some even took them as arrogant due to their work being famous. Also, they didn't had much money to actually pay schools, and due to the great demand, Surge, along with his eight brothers, was forced to learn the work of the family at a young age, to be able to help their father to gain their sustenance. As so, Surge had little instruction, actually, he barely even knew how to read. And also, due to the work that was so involved into physical force like working with iron all day, this made him, along with the rest of the males on his family, to be big and bulky.

Each one of his muscles came from years of working with iron all day and sometimes even overnight, and due to this, he himself got resilient to the tools of this, like being tired after a whole day of work, or being left without food, sometimes it even seemed that he and his brothers no longer felt heat due to the forge.

Sure, this had other effects, like his scales becoming rough and resilient, to fit into his bulky and strong body. Also, he had little of the manners to act into the high society events that Lovix and her parents. Actually, he was used to eat the way he wanted, and to have things simple and not all fancy like the things he had heard Lovix describe from the parties she already went.

Actually, many of his ways of acting would made him be categorized by her parents and by many others of their circle as a "brute" and a "savage". And sure they would categorize him like that, after all, all his ways of acting and behaving were totally opposite of their own and of what they were used.

And that was exactly why Lovix loved him. He was not like the rest of the fancy and arrogant boys that she met in these reunions that her parents dragged her to, and who she really disliked because of their pompous ways, and their prepotency. Surge was much more tranquil, and he was much more enjoyable.

Also, he was very strong, but that didn't meant that he was a brute, for he was gentle and caring, as Lovix had come to learn in the past days.

He might be poorly educated in comparison to her, who had the best teachers since her young years, but that didn't meant he was stupid, for he was one who knew by experience. He had learned many things out there that they didn't taught in the schools, and Lovix soon learned to pay attention to this special kind of wisdom that the grey colored dragon had.

Of course, this was since their first meeting, exactly one year ago, into a market that her parents had taken her to buy some pieces of forgery to act as their new decoration. She had, like all the time her parents took her to a place without first asking her what she thought about it, being in a very bad mood, and she had been grumpy most of the time.

That was until the moment she laid her eyes on Surge.

She didn't knew him yet, but, in the moment their eyes locked, she felt like her world somehow had changed. That young boy was a little dirty and sweaty, and he looked like he had not properly bathed for a while. However, he had some short of charm that quickly made the young Lovix walk to him and soon start to talk.

Surge, the young and poor son of a blacksmith, was surprised by this strange girl, clearly from a rich family, by the jewels that she was wearing, simply coming and asked him how he was doing. He had never talked properly to a girl before, and so, he had to stumble a little into his own words before he could start to make out complete and coherent phrases, enough to be able to talk to her without making a fool out of himself.

Well, still said the wrong thing one or two times and blushed madly as he did so. However, Lovix found it rather funny, and actually kinda cute. She giggled a little, what made him blush even harder. They both were taking a good time talking to each other. Well, until their families showed up.

It happened that, for some reason, Lovix family, by her father's side, had some short of bad term with Surge's family, from his father side.

IN the moment the two older dragons locked eyes it seemed that it was by very little that they did not engaged in a fight right there. Of course, they traded a lot of nasty remarks. Lovix father was far more composed, due his creation, and he was able to keep the class and reduce himself to acidic remarks and some indirect comments. Surge's father, a big and very bulky dragon called Sturdy Ironheart, however, was far more straight to the point, calling Lovax al kinds of names and nasty words, many of them which made Lovix blush madly and that almost made her mother faint.

This lasted for a while, before they separated, her father with his snout high in the air in arrogance and Surge's snorting in anger, baring his teeth. Of course, this lead to Lovix being taken away, and only being able to look at Surge, who looked back at her.

After that, her father took a long talk to her, about how it was better to stay away from "certain individuals", like someone who was an Ironheart.

Of course, Lovix _pretended_ that she was listening and agreeing with what her father was saying, however, she totally did not. Being away from that young, sympathetic dragon only because her father had some kind of animosity with his'? Like she would do that.

Besides, she felt like she should talk to that dragon again, at least to apologize for what had happened. After all, it was mostly her own father who had started the whole thing with his acidic remarks that had sent Sturdy over the edge.

So, that same night, she put on herself a cloak and sneaked out of home when her parents were sleeping. She was able to easily sneak out of her house, and to take her way back to the market. Normally she would go straight to the young dragon's house, but she had no idea of where he lived. So, she had chosen to go to the last place that she saw him, and form there, she could take her next move.

What wasn't her surprise when she met in the half-way, the very same young dragon. And Surge too was surprised for seeing her. He was going to her to apologize for the thing that his father did in the market, and he decided to go for it later on that night, when there was no longer job. Surely, he did not expected to simply bump into her, walking around at night with a hood over herself, as if she was going to do something wrong or forbidden.

Sure, after the initial surprise, and the scare they had for meeting someone when they were both trying to be subtle and practically invisible, they quickly were able to make a conversation.

Sure, it was a bit awkward in the start, but soon Lovix was able to find a way of words, as she had learned from her father, so she could make Surge more comfortable. Being able to relax someone with your voice is a very valued ability, and not only in the arts, like poetry and singing. It was also very valuable into the politics, in which her family was constantly involved.

Soon it worked, for Surge was becoming less nervous about it, and he was able to make up a little talk with her. He quickly apologized for his father and the things he said, and Lovix soon was apologizing too, saying that her father never acted that way before. She even asked if Surge by any chances knew what was the whole point of the near-fight that had occurred earlier.

Surge told her what his father had explained to her. It seemed that years ago, someone from her family on her father's side, maybe his grand-grandfather, had accused someone from his family on his father's side, from having stolen something from him.

There was a huge situation about that, and it ended up with Surge's ancestor being arrested and condemned to jail. And yet, the stolen object was never found, and it was one of the most prized objects Lovix's ancestor, and it ended up being a source of great frustration.

So, after that, her family got the impression of them being thieves and not being trustable. And his family got the idea that they were big liars and also selfish, who did not cared who they were hurting, and who had accused an innocent and made him pay for a crime he did not committed.

Surge confessed that, even after the speech that his father gave him, he was unsure of which one of them was telling the truth. Surge felt somehow ashamed of doubting the innocence of his own ancestor, but he never truly knew him, and he had no way of knowing what had transpired long ago.

Lovix was very much the same opinion. She didn't really knew what had happened. She knew that some people could sometimes make mistakes, and that it was possible that, even if her ancestor did not lied, he could have made a small mistake and he could have accused the wrong person. It would not be the first time that someone makes a mistake. Even if people may assume that the rich people, specially their loved artist, would never make a mistake in their lives, they forgot that they were still mortals. And as all mortals, they were not perfect, and they had flaws and they too _did_ made mistakes sometimes. Though she knew by her own experience that most people never admitted their own mistakes. Not aloud, at least. And especially not if they were someone of reputation, like her family.

It ended up that they had the same opinion: that it was impossible to take a real conclusion about all of that. They both seemed to be more willing to bent their opinions than their own parents, and it might have been one of the things that initially made them approach.

After that, they met more times, hidden from their families, of course. Soon, they both became really good friends, really inseparable. Surge just loved everything about Lovix. Not only she was beautiful and graceful and had a wonderful voice, as she was the nicest dragoness he ever met in his life. She was so nice to everyone and she was so willing to help others, and she gave him attention when many other dragonesses of her status would raise their snouts and walk far from him. She really wanted to be by his side.

As for Lovix, she liked Surge's simple ways. He was not interested into things like much money, as he lived one day after the other, and he was also thinking of others first. All the other boys she had knew were the kind that were always with games and involved with the politic at a young age. Most of them were actually just arrogant and spoiled brats. Surge was not like that. He was honest in all the words he said, and he was very gentle, despite being big and very strong. Lovix liked that combination onto him, and she just loved his simple ways. He was so sweet and kind, and he was the kind o0f dragon that could really call her attention. He was cute on his own way, and he was the kind of exotic dragon, which seemed to be much more honest to himself and about himself than any other of the boys she has ever met. Surge was not afraid of being who he truly was, and he had absolutely no reason to pretend to be something else. He was true. And that was what Lovix loved the more about him. Also, he was very protective, and he cared for her, and he made her feel safe whenever he was close to her. Many would disagree with her, and many would say that she was wrong, or maybe even too naïve to think something like that from him. But, to her, Surge was just the perfect male.

It was absolutely no surprise that they ended up falling in love with each other. Of course, they had to keep it in absolute secret, though both of them wanted to scream their love to the world, they both knew that their families would never accept this relationship. So, they had to keep it down and to limit themselves to only meet with each other in the moments when they would be alone and that no one would see them. They treasured these moments, and they enjoyed these moments together the max they could, to compensate all the time they could not be together whenever they wanted.

And tonight, was a very special night for both of them. It was the first anniversary of the day they had met. And knowing Surge well, Lovix had a feeling that he had something very special prepared.

She followed him across her garden to outside of her property, and across some streets, always avoiding the most crowded parts. Surge was guiding her to away from the lands that belonged to her family and into a part where they knew that they would not be bothered by anyone coming all of sudden. That was exactly what they wanted.

"Close your eyes." Said Surge to Lovix as they walked closer, and she smiled at him.

"Will you surprise me?" She asked, and he nodded, and that was enough for her. She closed her eyes, and started walking by using his voice and the heat that emanated of his body as a guide. She trusted him completely, and she knew that he would never do anything to hurt her or betray her trust. She knew that it would be unlike Surge. So, she had absolutely no fear of walking with her eyes closed as he led her way.

"Almost there." He said with a smile as he guided her. And after one more minute of walk, he finally arrived, and he said sweetly "Open your eyes."

She did, and what she saw, made her gasp. There was a towel in the ground, and some very elegant and very beautiful pieces of forgery acted as candles. There was a lot of fresh and very wealthy fruits over the towel, all set up into what seemed to be a very romantic dinner under the moonlight. The towel itself was set in the middle of a small field, and around it were flowers, which seemed to have been recently picked up, maybe from a public garden. All was set to create the climate of a very romantic picnic.

"Surge!" Lovix said as she looked at it, a smile in her face "It is beautiful!"

Surge smiled when he heard that "Glad you liked." He said as he gave her a kiss in the cheek. She blushed as his rough lips touched her tender scales. She had learned to want and to welcome that feeling right in the first time that she felt the touch of these scaly lips against her body, be it in her cheek, in her forehead or in her lips. And she never got tired of that.

"Sorry for not having something a little classier." Surge said as he guided her to the towel that was in the ground.

"No, it is great!" Lovix said quickly, and she was being honest "It is truly beautiful."

Surge smiled at her, and Lovix looked at the things in there. The candles looked like something that had been made right in the forgery where Surge worked with his family. The towel was rustic, maybe something old that was a bit cleaned up. It where the fruits which called her attention. There was good amount of them, and they looked to be fresh. On top of it, was one single Dragon Fruit.

Sure, for who had money, like her family, that was the kind of thing you could have practically everyday. She remembered that she always ate one piece of Dragon Fruit pie at least once a day, and it was her favorite dessert. However, she also knew that Surge was from a family that had far less resources than her family, and for them, fresh fruits like that were a luxury. And Dragon Fruit was very rare around these parts, what made it very expensive. She wondered just how much Surge actually spent into getting all of that ready.

Looking at her worried expression, and as if he could read her mind, Surge said, "Each one of us has our own wage in the forgery. I told you that."

Indeed, he had. They all received a small sum of money for their work in family, and while most of it was separated to buy things like food, each one had their own share, which they could do anything they wanted with. Still, she was bothered. She knew that their share was small, despite their work, and that Surge probably had to save money for a long time to be able to set that ready. Money that he could have spent into something for himself, instead of expending only to make something nice to her for their anniversary.

"You should not have spent so much with me." She said to him. He looked at her, and he said with a smile "Of course I should! Actually, I think I even spent too little!"

She looked at him as he seemed to believe in every single word he was saying "You are totally worth it. You deserve this and much more." And he leaned forward, and gave her a soft kiss in the lips.

She blushed madly. Even if it was far less than she was used too. Even if there were many people who she knew who were interested in her and could make something far bigger than that for her. That felt very special to Lovix. It felt special because Surge had actually saved the little money he could receive and used it to make something special to her. He really had little and he used it to make something for her, to show her that he really appreciated her.

This showed her that he put her above himself, and that he was willing to give away the little he had to make her feel truly special, because he thought that she was special. And that was exactly what made it all that happened be so special about. Because it was not only a gift to show that he had money. That was true and selfless, and it was a true gift from the heart. That made Lovix feel a warming in her heart, as the sensation she had was that she really was, at least in Surge's eyes, the most especial dragoness in the whole world.

That was like no one besides Surge and her own parents had ever made her feel. Surge really was willing to give the little he had to make her feel important to him, and that was better to anything else. She gave him a huge smile, and she fought the small happy tears coming out of her eyes. Now it was not time for tears. It was only time to smiles and for kisses. She said to him "Thank you." She was smiling wide as she looked in his eyes. "For all of that."

He smiled back "It is nothing." And he gestured to the towel in the ground "So, may we start eating?" And Lovix only answered with a nod and a smile still plastered in her lips as she sat down, and they both started eating the food that Surge brought to them. Starting with the grapes. They were sweet and they were very good, right in the point to being eaten, soft and tender and very juicy.

They both kept eating as they traded looks, loving words and occasional kisses. It all while they ate the fruits that Surge had got, some of them whole, and some of the sliced into pieces. There were occasional moments in which one of them put a fruit in the mouth, and the other got it with a kiss, tasting both the fruit and its partner.

They both chuckled as they shared this great moment, and all the troubles and worries disappeared.

There was not constant pressures of people around them, insisting them to keep an image and live up the name of the family.

There was not the constant lack of money that prevented the family from having good things. There was no forced compromises that they were forced to go and that kept them from doing what they wanted.

There was not some neighbors that took them as if they were arrogant only because they had to work all day and sometimes all night in order to have money for their food in the next day.

There was no pretenders with fake smiles who came to them only wanting to have some short of political alliance or economic gain from being into a connection with them and their family.

There was no tons of requests for several works of forgery that would take all their times and prevent them from going out, making friends, having social lives just like all other people around them, and would restrict them to only having their own families.

There was no second interest of all people around them that would always expect more of them and demand them to always do better when they were always making already their best.

There was no opinions of the society that said that they were uncivilized and some "second-class citizens" only because they didn't had the same education level and because they didn't had such a glamorous life like other people.

There was no family rivalries came from something that did or did not happened years before they were even born.

There was only them. Only a dragon and a dragoness. Only two people who were a couple and treasured each other more than gold, art, silver or jewels of any kind. There was only Surge, the blacksmith, and Lovix, the daughter of the artists. There was only them. Only the beautiful field they were in. The sweet fruits that they were eating together in that place. The candles that lighted the place where they were met together all alone. Only the moon and stars above them, the only witnesses of their secret meeting and about the love they shared in that peaceful night. Only the sweet kisses they traded now and then, away from the eyes of anyone who would judge them. Only the sweet love words that they traded in secret and that they would never say to anyone else in the world.

There was only their love. And that was the best moment for them, for there was only the only thing that mattered.

The night went away as they shared their love and enjoyed the food that they had. And they still had time for their romanticism and their talk.

"He didn't do it!" said Lovix as Surge just finished talking to her about one thing that had happened earlier in that same day, to which Surge replied, "Yes, he did! I was there, I saw it!"

And they both laughed. There was another thing that she loved in Surge, he made her smile at virtually any time. He always had something to tell her, be it a joke, or a comment or even something that had happened during his day or in his neighborhood, that made her open up a smile, despite all the troubles that had happened during her day. He made her happy like that, and that was just one more thing to add to the list of things that made Lovix love Surge as she never loved anyone else before.

And Surge was happy that he had made her smile again, that he was able to make her laugh. That was what he always wanted, because her laugh sounded so nice to his ears, almost as if it was music, and it made him had a real good feeling inside of him as he saw her happy like that. And her smile… wow, what a smile! It was so beautiful. She was so beautiful when she was smiling, and it seemed that, for a moment, the whole world become brighter and happier as he saw that beautiful smile of hers. It was like the first time they met, and the first time she laughed and smiled at him. It was such a magical moment, and suddenly it was like his life gained a total new meaning. It was like making her smile and making her happy every single day from that day on was the only goal. Like it was the only thing in the world that he would do that would ever means anything, and if he didn't did it, he would have never done nothing good or useful in his life.

It was like they only were born and existed for each other. Like they had knew each other for far longer than the first time they actually saw each other. It was like their whole lives were based on a long wait for each other. And right now, as they were alone together, it seemed only to be they be even more sure of that, as they started to cuddle together, as they shared the Dragon Fruit. Surge insisted that Lovix would eat most of it. After they were finished, they only cuddled as they looked up, as the twin moons and the start who looked down at them.

Lovix sighed, as she rested hear head against Surge's shoulder. After a few moments, she said "Surge… Tonight was so wonderful."

"For me too." Said the bulky dragon, as he looked down at her, and she smiled at him. Surge than spoke. "Still, I wish I could have done something a little better."

Lovix sighed, and shook her head "Surge, we already talked. You don't need to do something big. I know that you love me anytime that you do something especial to me like that." She said, as she looked in his eyes "I don't like when you talk as if what you do is not good enough for me."

Surge sighed "Is that… you are always going to these fancy events and with all the things… I just want to make something that you would think is wonderful." He seemed sad when he said it. Lovix looked at himself, feeling a pain on her chest, as she did every time that Surge talked like that, as if he was not able to make her happy. She put a claw on his chin, and raised his face to look at her. She offered him a kind smile.

"You already did." She said sweetly to him. "You always does. And that is why I love you." He words made Surge smile, and soon, they both were approaching their faces, and they met into a slow, passionate and loving kiss.

In that moment, they both felt the world all around them disappear. The world all around them vanished as they seemed to merge together into their loving warm of their touch. Once again, all of the troubles vanished as they only shared their love. There was only them in there, and the sweetness and love that flowed from one to the other, and nothing else. They wished that they could stay like that forever.

"SURGE!?"

The awfully familiar voice snapped them back to reality, as they both broke then kiss and looked scared at the source of the voice.

It was a dragon who looked bulkier than Surge. He had long, harsh horns in his head and a long tail ending into a mace. His body was of a pure black with a grey underbelly, and he had amber colored eyes, which were both widened.

"Dad!?" Surge said as he looked at him astonished, and so did Lovix. How did his father followed him!? Surge was sure he had been careful!

"Surge… what is happening?" said Sturdy Ironheart, as he looked at his son with the dragoness who happened to be the daughter of the person he less liked in the city. Surge was about to answer, when…

"There!" said someone, and they turned in time to see a red dragon with long, slender and curved horns in his head, and a cream-colored underbelly. He was thing, and his tail ended into a crescent tailblade. His golden eyes were narrowed in anger as he looked at Surge and Sturdy. By his side, were two bulky dragons, both wearing armors.

"I should know _you_ had something with this!" He practically roared "Guards! Arrest these two for kidnapping my daughter!"


	13. Sturdy as Steel and Passion as Love, P2

That night had started well for both Surge and Lovix. It was another chance of them for having a romantic and secret meeting away form the prying eyes of their families and relatives. To be alone with each otoher, and to be able to share their love in secret, without anyone around to control or judge them, and to be able to be trully happy at each other's company, even if it was just for a very brief space of time.

The night had been magical, for a certain extence, with a romantic dinner under the moonlight, by the light of candles, and spiced with kisses and nuzzles and with trades of true and eternal love from both parts. It was simply a magical dream. And it seemed that nothing could ruin it...

However, like all dreams, this one was fated to come to an end.

Both Lovix and Surge knew that, but they expected it to come to an end calmly, with the end of the night and the need for them to go back to their homes and resume their lives, and wait till the next chance to have something like that again. Like a tranquil waking up in the morning after a sweet dream at night.

None of them expected to be rudly shaken off that dream in order to wake up in a nightmare. With both their fathers in there, both of them having caught them and seemingly exposing their secret. Surge's father confused and looking at his son for answers to what was going on, while Lovix's father was furious, with two guards of the police force, and demanding for Surge and his father to being arrested, for kidnapping Lovix.

That was surely not how both lovers expected this night to end, and they both were, for the time being, too shocked and shaken to actually do or say anything.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Demanded Surge's father, staring straight at Lovax Strognheart, who only glared back, and he said, in a tone of pure poison "The meaning of this, is that I'm not going to accept that you and your son to try to kidnap someone from my family only to try to have my gold!"

"What!?" Strong Ironheart said as he looked at Lovax, who only kept staring at him, as if he wanted just to pounce at him and to attack him with his claws. "What do you mean by that, Strongheart? Is that some kind of scheme of yours? You are trying to lure my son and I to some kind of trap?"

Lovax snarled, and he said, "Of course, you realize your crime and when you are caught you try to play the victim, this is tipical of a Ironheart! I should not expect anythign else from your family."

Strogn snarled loudly at him, and he seemed ready to pounce, but the two guards who were with him quickly stepped on the way, and he only stayed where he was. Surge and Lovix were both there, and they were only watching, almsot as if they were under a spell, and they could only watch it unfold, as if they were only watchers inot somethgin far bigger, like a big espectacle.

"I have been patient, and tried to let you live your life, along with the rest of your family, but you have gone too far this time!" Lovax said to Strong, his face contorted with a mix of anger, outrage and also some disgust. "I'll not let this go now! You will pay for trying to ge to my family! Guards! Arrest these two right now!"

The guards immediatelly walked in direction to Strogn,a nd also to Surge, and this was enough fro Lovix to finally snap out of it, and finally scream out "NO!"

As she said it, it was like the scene had froze in time. All eyes were now turned to her, as she was breathing heavilly.

"Lovix..." Lovax said to his daughter, unsure of what that meant, and Lovix looked at him, and she said, "Dad! You can't arrest Surge and his father! They ahve done nothign wrong!"

"Wha... Lovix, how can you say that!?" He asked his daughter, looking at her and at the two "They have kidnapped you!"

"No, they didn't!" Was Lovix answer, and it made her father even mroe confused, as did her next words "I escaped on my own."

"What!?" Lovax said, completelly lost, and so was Strong, as they both looked at Lovix. The pink dragoness took a deep sigh, and she looked back at Surge, and she said, "I came here to meet Surge."

They were still confused, until she walked back at him, and entwirned her tail with his', making him blush furiously. "I came here to see him." She said simply, and this was enouhg to make both fathers to understand it. As they did, the confusion in their faces was replaced by the most complete and absolute shock.

They both looked at the scene that was in there, and they saw the candles, and the twoel stretched over the soft grass, right under the two moons. They both only needed to think for a few secodns to came to conclusion that it was what it seemed to be: It was a romantic meeting.

There was a silence that would make envy to any cemetery in the air as both Lovix and Surge waited for the reaction of their parents. It was their worst fear coming to life right in front of them, and they knew that, now that the secret was out, the consequences would come fast and that they would be big. There was no turning back now, and they could only wait for both of them to recover from their shock so they could start on their tirade over the two secret lovers, and they both knew bery well that it _was_ going to have a tirade. Two, actually. From both of them.

The silence did lasted for a few moments, as both parents had shock in their faces. However, in Lovax case, this shock was soon replaced by some short of anger, as he looked daggers at Surge. If looks could kill, the poor grey dragon would be very much a corpse them and there.

His look didn't stayed into Surge for too long, though, for it soon switched to Strong, who was still shocked, but this changed as soon as words filled with anger left Lovax mouth.

"Did you planned this!?" he sounded outraged, and made all the dragons look at him. "So, this is your plan now? You use your son to seduce my daiughter and take our money?"

He sounded as if he trully believed these words, and this somehow shocked the dragons around even more than the woprds itself he had said. Strong, Surge and Lovix all looked speechless at the dragon, who looked at Strgon as if he was demanding an answer. "So, what? You made him seduce her and then make her give to him the max of money possible?"

After a moment, Strong found his voice again, and his expression turned inot one of pure hate as he looked at the smaller red dragon. "You accuse me and my son of doing somethign like that!?" He asked as outraged as Lovax sounded a few moments ago.

Lovix and Surge shared a look. They already knew that, if what was happening now really did happened, things were going to get bad. However, this thign was getting, if that was possible, even worse than they thougth.

"How can you say somethign like that!?" said Strong to Lovax, and the red dragon answered by saying "I can say it becasue I know perfectly well what your family is capable of!" His done denoted pure hatred and despise, and it was clear in his expression that he really meant every single word of what he was saying. "You are perfect capable of having planned this! Seducing a poor young girlt to get what you want! Humph! This abordage has Ironheart writen all over it!"

"Oh, really!?" Strong Iroheart said, now sounding to be really mad. "How can I know that _you_ did not set this all up just to be able to blame me son and I!?"

"What!?" Lovax cried out, now genuinelly shocked, and so were Surge and Lovix, who both stared at Strong. Surge was atonished. He just hadn t heard it. He must have misunderstood what his father said. However, the next words of the bigger and bulkier dragon only confirmed that his hearing was perfect as it had always been.

"Oh, no more pretending, Strognheart!" Strong said, looking at the red dragon as he continued, spitting his words at him. "You _always_ had somethgin agaisnt my family, and that comes from generations! Of course that you would _love_ to have an excuse to make somethgin to us!" His face was contorted by anger as he threw these words at the red dragon. "I really would not be surprised if I knew that you set this all up! That you told your daughter to seduce my son and to drag him here only so you could have an excuse to order him ot be arrested!"

Surge looked completelly stupefied to his father, and Lovix covered her mouth with her paw. Even the guards who were with Lovax exchanged a look among them, wondering if it was a bad idea to have answered a call so late at night, and if they should have a chance to sneak away from that scene that was unfolding in front of their eyes.

Even Lovax, for one moment, lost his tirade in frotn of this absurd that was said, and simply stared, wide-eyed and mouthed at the dragon before him. However, this soon was replaced by a even angried expression, as he was outraged.

"How you dare!?" he said, a she seemed not ready to pounce at the dragon in frton of him, and Strong also seemed ready to a fight. He flexed each one of his muscles and seemed to be dragging his claws at the ground, as if he was shaprening them. "You DARE to accuse _my daughter_ , the purest dragoness who ever lived, to have sink so low to the point of seducing someone to get what she wants?" Lovax said.

"You have gone too far this time, Ironheart!"

" _I_ have gone too far, Strongheart?" Strong said at the other dragon, "My son is a good boy, one of the best I ever knew in my life! He does all he can to help others, and he is alwasy ready to give the little he has for others! He never hurt anyone, nor he even made anything wrong in his life! He never stole or attacked anyone before! And you are firstly accusing _him_ of kidnapping your daughter then he could demand a ransom in money, and right after, of _seducing_ her in order to only be able to take her money!? And you even have the guts to say that _I_ am the one who has gone too far this time!?" He was pratically roaring a thte red dragon, what made even the two guards retreat a few steps back, as if they were afraid of falling victims of the anger of that grey dragon. "You really want to point a claw to someone and say 'you aren't worth a thing'!? Them go look into a mirror!"

Lovax, the only one who had not felt intimidated by Strong's tirade, curled his lips, showing off his teeth. He seemed ready, or to roar and pounce at the bigger dragon to start to struggle to be able ot bit in his neck and rip a piece of it off, or to say something in return that surelly would make his wife faint in shock for hearing such an obscenity.

However, he didn't had a chance, for someone screamed before he did.

"STOP THAT!" said the female voice, so loud and with such power that it seemed, for a moment, that even the wind had stopped blowing to comply with her sudden command.

The scene seemed to freeze as all the eyes turned to Lovix. She had her head down, and she seemed to be taking deep breaths. Actually, she almost seemed to be choking back sobs. A few moments passed as everybody stared at her, all of them seeming to be holding their breaths, as they expected her to say or do something, by the way she had just screamed like that.

Lovix finally raised her head, letting everyone see that her face was stayned with tears. She looked at everyone in there, except for Surge. She looked at the guards, at Strong, and at her own father. She finally spoke, her voice shaken, as if she was hurt "What is your problem?"

Her father could not answer, as he was too shocked to hear his own daughter talk to him like that. However, Lovix was not talking only to him, she was talking to everyone. She looked at them, and she said, "What is your problem?" She seemed almsot about to cry, and this made Surge approach her.

"Lovix..." he said gently, but she seemed to ignore him, and she continued, "Why are you acting like that!?" She sounded now very upset with both her own father and Strong. "You two are behaving just like spoiled kids!"

"Wha..." Said Strong, shocked, and as much as Lovax, who said, "Lovix!"

"Why can't you just stay near each other without starting a fight!?" this was more a tone of acusing and reprobation than an actual question, much like a mother repreending her kids. "Why do you have to keep fighting and accusing eahc other and acting like this just becuase of something that happened years before you two were even born!?"

There was not an answer, as both males looked shocked at her, and so, she continued "What it matters if was one thign or the other!? What difference it makes!?" She looked at them as if she was really expecting them to give a plausible explanation. However, once again, they onlçy stared in silence at her. It only seemed to feed her tirade, as she resumed it once more, now seeming even angrier.

"Why does it even matter?" she said, looking down. "Why does somethign that happened so long is an excuse for people to stay hating themselves?" She raised her head to look at everyone in there. "Why something regarding our ancestors is an excuse to keep feeding hate and resentment against each other as if it was more important than anythign else?"

"Lovix!" her father finally said, "Are you saying that we should just forget what the Ironhearts have done?"

"We have done nothing, Strongheart!" Strong said at him, also snapping out of his stupor, as he looked with anger to the red dragon, "It was _your_ ancestor who did-"

"SHUT UP!" Lovix screamed loudly, her voice echoing all around them as it seemed to be a scream so deep from her soul that it made even it flinch and recoil, intimidated by the power behind these words. Once more, the scene seemed to freeze as everybody stared at her, as she was now really crying, as she continued.

"Shut up... Just shup up, both of you!" she said loudly, not holding back her tears. She looked up at them, and by her face, it was clear that she was talking serious. "It doesn't matter who did what!" She said to them, "At least it should not matter! It was almost a century ago! By Draconia! Just let go of it!"

There was no answer, as both dragons looked at her, seeing all the suffering and anguish that there was in her face. "Why ther is the need of keeçpçing feeding it?" She asked them, "What is the sens of all of that!? All you are doing is giving people the excuse to attack and to hate each other! All you do by doing this is creating more resentment and more hate and to prevent people from moving on and living their lives!"

She looked at them, tears still running down her face as she seemed about to break down sobbing. Yet, there was some kind of energy in her face, some kind of determination that conbined with her sadness, creating something that was very hard to describe, and that somehow hit to their very souls, and made them look at her with full attention, at the same time that they seemed to be paralized by it, and unable to say or do anything that would make her stop, and anger to make her get even angrier.

"This only serves to make people suffer." She said the last part in a lwoer voice, still, loud enough for everyone around her to hear. "It only serves to make people sad and angry, to to bring grief and anguish to their hearts, preventing them from seeing the good in each other and forcing them to look only to what they have been taught that it was the worse in the other."

She had lowered her head as she was talking, her tears still flowing and landing in the ground beneath her feet. The others looked at her, all suddenly filled with a need of going there and conforting that poor dragoness. Especially Surge, who could simply not stand to see Lovix so sad and so down lilke that. However, the pink dragoness raised her eyes again, and she was looking at the dragons in frotn of her again, with her very determination back in her eyes.

"The worse of all, is when it prevents people from being happy." She said it with a deep tone of resentment, as she looked accusingly at the two dragons in front of her. "When it prevents them from knowing each other, and when they do, it prevents them from beign together and from being happy."

Surge knew instantly what she was talking about, and he shared her feelings. Indeed, he also, just like his father, didn't liked the idea of his ancestor being a criminal, but he didn't saw reason in that to hate someone he barelly even knew. Also, he was deeply upset in his own heart for this being the only reason why he and Lovix simply could not love each other and be happy together. Surge really thought it to be wrong, and, in his own mind, it simply did not made any sense. He always knew that Lovix thought exactly the same way, and it was even more evident right now, when she was really putting her heart out to the people around her.

"This is wrong..." Lovix said, lowering her head again, as she continued to cry. "This is just so wrong that people must suffer instead of being happy, only because other people say them so."

The dragons around all looked at her. The guards who were following Lovx shared a look among them, both imagining just what was going to happen now. Lovax was the first one to recover, and he walked to his daughter. "Lovix..."

"Don't come closer." She hissed at her father, making the red dragon get stunned that his own daughter was talking to him like that, and even more because of the look she was giving to him. That was very much the same look that he, many times before, had gave when he met a Ironheart, or even when he heard talk about them. That was a look of despise, of anger, of reprobation, it was even almsot one of disgust. Having his own daughter looking that way to him was somethign that really disturbed him very much.

"You alwasy taught me that we should be an example to other people." She said to her father, her voice shaken. "That we should be the right kind of people for everyone to be able to follow. That we should always be the image of the best that the dragons had to offer, in order for us to be able to inspirate people and make them follow our example, and also be the best they could."

"What kind of example is that?" She asked as she looked at him, and he was unable to answer "What kind of example is that of hating people you don't even know because of something that happened years ago? That is the kind of image that we want to pass to other people? This is what we want to think of us? Of arrogant, stupid, hateful people?"

Lovax was more shocked than ever for hearing that form his daughter's lips, Lovix, however, seemed not to care how she sounded to him, as she was only talking what was trully on her mind, and now that she had began, there was simply no way that she would simply stop that.

"This is not how I want others to see me." She said, looking fiercelly at her father, and she walked backwards, right to Surge's side, and she stood there, as she looked at him. "This is not who I want to be."

Her father looked speechless at her, and he simply was out of acton as he was too shocked to say or do anything. He just looked at her, as she stared back at him, and she said, "I don't really know what happened years ago with our ancestors. I have no way of knowing." She was looking at him dead in the eye as she spoke that. "And you know what? I don't care!"

She entwirned her tail with Surge's, caughting the poor dragon off guard, and bringing a birght blush over his face. "I just know that I love Surge, more than anything else, and I know that he loves me too." She said to her father, and she seemed to be talking more serious than she always did speaking at someone in her whole life.

"You should be able to respect it, after all you alwasy told me about believing in myself and following the voice of my heart." She spoke to him as she looked at him dead in the eye, and she said, "And my heart tells me that Surge is the only male in the world that will make me happy. And I plan to hear it." She reclined her body forward, as if to get closer to her father, and say it so there was going to have no mistake on what she would speak next. "Doenst' matter what you say."

With that, she turned around, and she said to the dragon right by her side "Surge, let's go."

For a moment, Surge just stood there, unsure of what to do, and looking at the dragons, who all looked as unsure of what to do as him, save for Lovax, who looked as if he had been hit by a bolder right in the front of his body. He then looked back at Lovix, who was looking at him, not with anger, but with some short of sadness. It seemed that speaking like that had ventd out all her idignation and anger, and left behind only the sadness.

"Surge..." She said quietly, and by her voice, she almost sounded as if she was hurt physically. "Lets go away..." She said to him, "Please... let's just... let's just go away from here..."

Tears were still leaking form her eyes, and Surge, somehow, understood what was the pain that she seemed to be feeling. He looked at her, and then he nodded. That was all that took for both he and Lovix flap their winds, and to start ascending in the sky, moving away from teh ground, and away form the four dragons that were with them, all of them still remainign where they were, watching as they left.

"S-should we go after them, sir?" Asked onf of the guard to Lovax, however, the red dragon didn't answered. "Sir?" The guard called again, but the red dragon was not answering, as if he wasn't listening.

He just stand there, watching as his daughter was flying away in the company of Surge, unable to do anything except to look. Strogn was very much the same, but less apathic, as he was able to follow them as they flew, but only with the look, and he didn't stopped to cast glances every now and them at Lovax and at the guards he had brought with him.

Indeed, that night really had not developed like he imagined it would when the sun first set hours ago.

In the moment, that was absolutelly the only thing in the world he was sure of.

* * *

Surge and Lovix both flew together across a few hectars of land beneath them, barelly even minding that they simply had a very awkward meeting with their fathers a while ago.

Lovix was only looking forward, and a few tears were still leaking from her eyes. Surge, on the other paw, was still worried about Lovix, due to the little outburst she had a few moments ago. He was looking at her all the way as they flew across the land, seeming that they were just searching for a place to simply drop, but they seemed not to be able to decide a good one.

For a while, Surge imagined if she only wanted to fly until she was tired. If she had no true destination, and that sjhe only wanted to go far. Far from their parents, from the people who judged them and who are so insensitive to their feelings, and who only saw their own anger and ressentment instead of the happiness of the people who should be important to them.

Surge was really worried at her, for he didn't liked seeing her so upset and so angry. He was very gentlte when he approached her, and he at some point had to beg her to stop a little, so they could talk calmly. He only suceeded when he said that they were already far enouhg form the guards and from Strong and Lovax, and that they could not come to them and make her sad again.

Actually, it was more the worried and almsot pleading tone in his voice and the expression in his face to make her finally decide to land.

They landed softly into a field of grass, away from everyone, and in there, Lovix looked up, to the twin moons, which still moved across the sky, seeming to be unnafected by what had just happened.

Surge looked at her from behind, as she only looked up, seeming undisturbed, but Surge knew her too well to know that she was not unmoved. He knew full well when somethign was really disturbing her. He approached her from behind, very slowly, and he called her, very gently.

"Lovix..."

Barelly he said this single word, and immediatelly, he heard her sniffing, and she suddenly spuna round, and buried her face in his shoulder, and started to cry and sob.

Surge was surprised, however, the only thougth on his mind was to confort her. And so he did, by putting his wings around her in an embrace as he offered her his shoulder for her to cry on.

She sobbed in his shoulder for a long time, and she was talking to him "Why?" She asked, not really expecting an answer from him, but she was asking it the same. "Why they don't let us be happy together only because of a stupid rivalry between our families?"

"Why they want us to be as resentful as them only because of something that happened long before we were born?" She sounded as if she was really desperate for an answer "This doesn't even makes sense! Why they can't accepte us to be happy? Why they have to be liek that?"

Surge could not answer, and he knew that he should not. He did the only thing that he knew tjhat he should be doing now, holding Lovix thight and close to him, conforting her with his embrace and with the love which flowed form each other. Shelter her from the cold that came, both of the night, as for the one that came from her heart, seeded there by the words and actions of their parents, which were really not understanding.

Surge never expected an action like that from hsi own father. Accusing Lovix of having utterior motives to be with him, as she could not really be attracted to him. But the worse was the insinuation that she would be able to do something liek that. That she would be able to deceive someone in order to get something in the way she wanted. Lovix was not like that. She never was and she was never going to be. When he ehard his father say this, he felt like going to his father and screaming in his face that he was wrong, but he was still too shocked, and when he recovered enough to be ready to do that, Lovix was already ahead of him.

He could really not understand what was that which led his father to act like that. However, he could not think of it now. In the present moment, his only worry was Lovix. She was the only think that needed his attention at the moment, and he was going to give it to her untiul she was feeling better. He would be there, holdi9ng her all night if it was needed, until she would stop crying, and he would be able to make her smile again.

They laid together there for several minutes, or maybe they were a few hours. Honestly, neither of them cared. Surge was too focused into conforting Lovix and making her feel better about all that happened. Lovix, on her turn, was only suffering from what she had witnessed from them, and she was only searching for the supprot that she needed from Surge, the only dragon who did not hurt her feelings, and who actually seemed to care about her thoughts. He was caring for her even now, that she was only crying. Many would have left her be, and walk away, but Surge once more proved that he was devoted to her and cared about her, and so, he once more proved that he was the only one who seemed to trully deserve to be the especial one in her life.

After a while, she finally seemed to be able to calm down enouhg to talk properly to Surge, but she was still sniffing softly. "I can't take it anymore." She sid to him, making him a bit confused.

"I can't take it anymore." She repeated, more to herself than to him, but the next words were sure meant for him to hear. "I can't take anymmore we having to be hidden, as if our love was a wrong thing. I can't take anymore of our families being enemies and we having no right of being together."

"I already had enouhg of being forced to stay hidden and to not be able to be with you when I want." She finally raised her head, and her bloodshot, teary eyesw met Surge's. Her sadness had most of all dissapeared, and now, they were replaced by a strong kind of determination, that he already had seen in her eyes before. "I'll not take it anymore."

"Lovix?"

She looked at him, and she spoke the next words clear enouhg for him to not have any mistake of what she was saying "Surge, we need to run away."

This surprised Surge. Of course, he knew that she could take the necessary measures when things were going to hard or when she needed to do somethign. And he already knew that the look in her face meant that she was not kidding in the slightest. Still, the request of somethign so drastic was still very surprising at him.

"Surge, lets go away from this town." She said to him, almost pleading as she seemed to be talking more seriously than she ever was on her life. "Lets go to somewhere far, where they won't bother us anymore! Lets go somewhere we can stay together and where we will be able to stay with each other without no one tell us that we can't!"

A lot of thoughts passed by Surge's head, all of them at once. Part of him wanted to accept her request into a heartbeat. Part of him was afraid of what they would find in the way if they really left. Part of him wondered back to his family, and to the effects that it would have if he suddenly left without at least giving some for of explanation to them, and what would be of them with one less people to help around. Part of him wanted to talk to her that it might not be the best of ideas, and that they probabyl would face many problems due to this decision. Part of him wanted to talk to her that it would be dangerous being out there on their own, and that they wouyld have no way of sustaining themselves, and that it was going to be difficult to live out there by suddenly leaving behind all they knew. Yet, part of him still wanted to simply comply with her, and simply do as she said, leaving it all behind and flying away in directiuon to the moons, to somewhere where they would never be bothered again, and in which they would be finally able to be together forever.

He was in conflic with himself, each part of his brain weighting the pros and cons of what she was suggesting them to do. He was unsure of which one was winning, and so, he otrie to talk about that with her. "My family is in here, and so is your's."

Lovix looked at him, and she sighed "I know." She said to him, looking down. Lolix knew that she was going to be leaving her mother behind, and that she was gooing to miss her. Also had Surge, and there was the fact that the grey colored dragon had much more that he was going to lose than her. He had a mother too and, while Lovix was only child, Surge had back in home many sinblings, who would also miss him too much. She knew that she was demanding too muchb of him, asking him to leave his family like thjat, so suddenly, however, if he stayed, she was not going to want to leave, and now that the secret was out, she was sure that her father would never allow them to be together. The options were either they both would leave or they would never be able to be together, and Lovix was not willing to simply give up to the later.

However...

She sighed, as she looked down. How could she ask this from him? How she could simply ask him to give up everythign he cared about and treasured only to be with her? Even if that menat that she would never be able to be with him, she didn't had the right to ask him to give up everything so they could part together for a uncertain future.

She could not do it to him.

More tears perked down her face, as she thought about it, and Surge looked worried at her, and she looked in his eyes, and she said, "Yes, you are right..." She sounded sad, and Surge didn't liked to see her like that. "You will be missed by them, and you will miss them." She said, as if each word was breaking her heart. "I-I can't ask you to do this." She said, finally looking away, "You have too mucht o lose and I... I can't make you give up havving them by your side only so I can have you at mine!" She said, finally breaking down again inot sobbing.

For a long moment, they justs tood there, Surge still looking at her, as she was sobbing, knowing that she was giving up the only chance in ehr life to be trully happy. Still, she simply couldn't ask Surge to give up so much for her. This was not right. She could not do it to him. Not to him. She loved him too much to be the one to cause him suffering.

However, she didn't needed to ask.

After a few seconds, she felt a wing genrtly land in her back, and she looked over her shoulder, to see Surge smiling at her. He approached her, and he kissed her on the lips passionatelly. Once more, Lovix felt th world vanish around her, as all that was left was her and Surge, and nothing else that could get on the way of their happiness.

After a while, they finally broke the kiss, and Surge said "We will need some supplies for the trip."

This was more than enough for Lovix to understand that he _did_ wanted to run away with her. And he did, Surge had alçready decided. Even thought he was going to miss his family, and he knew that he too was going to be missed by all of them, he wanted to be with Lovix. She was everythignt o him. She was his world. Wihtou her in his life, he would feel like his life had absolutelly no purpose. He felt it every day he was away form her since the day they knew each other. Myabe it was hte true love. The one that made people belong to each other like that, and that made you feel like the other was a piece of you that you never knew that was missing until finding this person. It was really like two bodies sharing the same soul.

Lovix looked at him, and she said, "We might never come back." She was afraid, and Surge put a claw in her chin, and made her look in his face. He seemed calm and soothing as she continued, "We might not have a home anymore."

"We will." He said, sounding completelly sure of what he was saying. "As long as we are together, our home will be wherever we are."

She felt more tears forming in her eyes. "Oh Surge..." She said, and kissed him again, this time even deeper, and he eagerly returned her kiss. In this moment, the future didn't mattered. The fear didn't mattered. The unknown didn't mattered even in the slightest. They just knew, deep in their hearts, that as long as they had the other by their side, there was not going to be a single challenge that they could not face.

They gave each other strenght in a way that nothign else in the world could. And that was good, becuase they were going to need all this strenght.

More than any of the two could ever be able to predict.

* * *

Just a few hours later, Lovix was on her house. She had flew back to there with Surge, in order to get somethings that they were going ot need for their trip.

She already packed a few things into a bag over her shoulder and neck. She had a compass, a hourglass, a few maps of the lands and of the nearby terrains. She also had a lot of golden coins with her, in case some monetary need would arise during their trip. Of course, she was taking also some food with her, mostly fruits, since they were pratical for trips, and some food with salt, which would prevent them from rotting, and alsoo some dry food, which also lasted long.

She wasn't sure of exactly how much they were going to travel, or how far they would actually get to go in order to her father not being able to track them and send someone to bring her back and, very possibly, send Surge to jail. But she knew that it had to be far,l for her father was very influent over the region and over the neighbor lands, and so, they had to travle, at least, to the edge of their contry, or maybe to the next country, in order to be able to stay out of reach. They would probably even have to travel in hidden, and hide their identitiezs to avoid being tracked. Actually, Lovix already had a long brown cloak over her body, and Surge, who was waiting outside, already had his own, and they were going to use the last hours of night, which were the darker of them all, to escape without being seen by anyone.

She sighed, as she knew that this trip was not going to be an easy one, yet, she was willing to make it, and so was Surge. They both were willing to go to the edeges of the world for each other, and there was absolutelly no doibt of that, and they both were ready to leave all the rest behind to be together.

This was the size of their love.

Lovix had just finshed putting the last of the objects in her bag, when he let one of them drop. It was a knife, a small one, in case they needed it for havign wood and for defending themselves. And it landed right on the floor, piercing the carpet that covered the ground of her bedroom.

It up, only to it rip noisilly a piece of the carpet as she pulled it. She stopped in her tracks, her heart giving a jump as she looked to the sides, scared that someone had heard it and now was coming to chekc what it was and was going to caught her.

She did not expected anyone, not even her father, to predict that she would be back at home, and that she would be getting everything ready to depart for good with Surge. However, she was still deadly afraid of being caught and all their plans being ruined before they even started.

After a few moments, shye saw that no one was coning, so probably, no one had heard. She let out a relieved sigh, as she looked at the pieve she had ripped from the carpet. It was a big one, and looking at the hole, she could see the stone of solid wood that was under it.

It seemed noble and old wood. Which made sense, after all, that house was of her father's family for generations, and was probably one of the oldest structures at the city. Lovix was about to turn around to leave, howeverl, as she looked at the floor, she noticed somethign peculiar over it.

She looked intently, and she noticed very subtle, but yet, somehow visible, markings in the floor, almost as if they were lines. It almsot seemed...

Looking closelly, she saw that indeed, the markings were carvings in the floor, forming what seemed to be a very small trapdoor.

She looked at the small thing in the floor, which was hidden under the carpet of her room, and probably it was there for a long time, by the aged look of the wood. She examined it, and tried to grab it with her claw, to discover that it was slightly loose. Still, it was somehow stuck, and only her claw was not enought ot get a good grip and open it.

For a moment, she thought of giving up, but she remembered the knife in her hand. She looked at the trapdoor, and she decided that she wanted to know that was in there. She had always been curious, and she liked learning secrets behind things.

She gently fit the blade of the knife into the sink that was the outline of the trapdoor, and gently twisted it, using it as a leveler to force the thing to open. After half a minute, she finally was able to make it loose enouhg to be opened.

It was soon opened by her, and she was met by a wave of dust, that made her nose itch, and forced her to muffled a few sneezes. Once she recovered, she saw that was in the small trapdoor.

It was an open space, with a few objects in it, most of it semeed to be very old and worthless. There were a few old and decayed books, and also, some pieces of cloth, and also some drawings, which seemed to have been made by a skilled paw.

Most of it seemed to be pieces of an old treasure of someone who lived in that same room several years ago. Lovix picked up one of the books, and she just opened it, when something slipped from inside of it and fell to the ground.

"Huh?" She looked down at it, and put the book down to pick it. It semeed an old piece of paper, and she was soon unfolding it, carefully, for it seemed to be old and fragile.

As soon as it was opened, she started to read it. It was written into a refined writting, and it said the following:

 _I know that what I did was wrong, and I regret it, but it had to be done._

This caught Lovix attention, and she started to write it.

 _That object has always been the most treasured of my husbands possessions, and I always knew that he would be devastated if it went missing._

 _I knew that I should not do what I did, but it had to be done._

 _After what I discovered about that, I just had to do something._

 _I took a lot of time to convince me to do it, and to actually do it, even knowing it would hurt my husbnad more than any physical blow would ever be able to. It had to be done. So, when he was finally asleep, I managed to sneak into his attic, and steal that cursed object._

Lovix continued to read, feeling more and more caught up into the reading as it went by.

 _I had alwasy worked as a sculptor, and I knew that I had to hide that thigns into a place no one would ever find. So, after thinking, I finally decided to hide that object inside of one of my scuptures, and keeping it there, in order so no one would ever find._

 _I felt guilty for doing it to my husband, but it had to be done._

 _The fate of the world depended on it._

The fate of the world?

 _Of course, I knew that my husband would be devastated once he discovered that the object was stolen, and that he would search for it,a nd would not find. However, I would never had predicted that he would accuse an innocent of MY crime. I never predicted that a simple blacksmith, who happened to be in our house in that day, would be accused of having stole his prized possession._

Lovix eyes widened when she read it. As she was reading, it was soon becoming clear in her mind.

Could it be..?

She continued reading.

 _I wanted to speak for him. To say that he was innocent. But I knew that, if I did it, I would ahve to confess my crime, and I knew that there were going to be consequences._

 _So, I remained in silence. I watched as that innocent was charged for somethign he didn't do. I had to hear my husband curse the name of his family, and to swear that they would never be forgiven._

 _I watched as he taught that to our children, and they would most likely taught it to their own children, and it pained deeply in my heart, for I knew that I was the only guilty._

 _But there was nothing I could do. The statue I build, in which our secret was hidden, was already sold and could be anywhere in the country by now. I could never confess to anyone my crime. My only confort was that the object was safe, and the evil that searched for it would never use it for evil._

 _However, even that was not enough. Not when there was an innocent suffering an injustice. Not when the future generations were going to be taught to hate each other because of the confusion that I had caused._

 _This is a guilt that I'll carry until the last day of my life, and now, all I do is to write down my crime, for someone one day to find, and discover the truth after I'm gone._

 _If you are reading, I know I have no way of convincing you that this is true, but I don't care. I just want to tell to someone. If you want to hate me for what I did, I understand, but it had to be done, the fate of many depended in that._

 _This is my last letter, and I hope that someone finds it, and bring the truth to surface._

 _That young blacksmith never stole anything. It was me. Ziana Strongheart, who stole it from my own husband._

 _Izan Ironheart is innocent._

Lovix froze right after she finshed reading it, he legs shaking as she tried to keep a grip at the paper in her hands.

This was written long ago, by her own ancestor.

If it was true... If what was written in there was true... Then that meant that she was the cause of that.

This was just the answer to all the misunderstanding and the hate that had plagged their families for generations.

Her family said that the Ironheart were thieves. The Ironheart said that they were wrongly accused. Now, it all fit in, with what was written in that letter.

It was her ancestor's wife. She stole the object. It was really stolen, and Surge's ancestor was only in the wrong place in the wrogn moment, and he got accused. Of course that her ancestor would not imagine that his own wife could have stolen somethign from him, especially if she knew that it was important to him.

If it was true, than that paper could be the solution to everything!

If this came to light, all the previous misunderstandings would be unmade! Their families would finally be able to reconciliate, and she and Surge would no need to run away to be together!

When she thought about it, Lovix felt like her heart could explode of so much happiness. She almsot felt like starting to jumping around the room, singing in happiness.

However, somethign else came in ehr mind, and it was a question.

Why did her ancestor did it?

In the letter said that the world depended on it. What did that meant?

It said that there was too much at risk, and that the fates of many depended on it. It also said that the evil searching for it was not going to find it. The mroe Lovix toiught about it, trying to make sense out of this whole thign, the less she seemed to find sense. Actually, it was only making more questions pop in her head as she tried to figure it out.

What would be this evil? What could she be talking about? What would be able to scare her so much that she would want to steal somethign from her own husband and hide it inside a statue in order to hide it from... someone? Something?

What was she talking about when she said that she had to do it? What was the meaning? Did that even made sense?

These questions assaulted Lovix mind, and she thought that, before anythign, she should show Surge the letter. Later they could decide what to do about it together.

She was walking out, indirection to the balcony, when she hear a commotion coming from outside.

"I have done nothign wrong!" Said Surge's voice "Please, I'm telling the truth!"

"You will come with us!" Said another voice, one that almost sounded angry "You and the girl!"

"Why? She has done nothing!"

"Stop resisting!"

Lovix rushed to the balcony, and she was just in time to see Surge sttrugling against two dragons, both seemed to be from the guard. One of them said "You will come with us! Both of you!" There was somethgin about them that just seemed wrong, and Lovix, immediatelly dove there.

She landed in the side of one of them, sending him reeling back, and Surge used this chance to swing his claw and hit the other guard in the face with a strong punch.

After that, the two guards trying to recover, and Lovix and Surge shared a look, and one of the guards looked at them, and they could see his eyes. They were completelly black, and the look in them was soulless and mercyless. This made both of them have shivers, and the guard said, with a strong voice "You two are under arrest!"

The two dragons barelly had time to answer, and they were surprised by the other guard, who jumped over Surge, and pinned him to the ground. Lovix had a chance to look in the eyes of the other guard, and he too, had the same black and soulless eyes, and he bared his fangs as he seemed ready to bite down at Surge's neck.

"No!" Lovix screamed, now fearing for Surge's life, and then, before she knew it, the strangest thing happened:

Some strange, pink glow, came form her mouht, and she instinctivelly breathed it, in the form of a heart-shaped blast, which hit the Guard straight on.

He was immediatelly pushed back, and landed in the ground, twitching slghtly. Surge looked at him,a nd he looked back at Lovix, who had an expression in her face which was as shocked as his own.

What had just happened?

But they didn't had time to think of it, as the other guard immediatelly grabbed Lovix by the neck, making her gasp and grab his arm, but he kept squeezing it, seeming as if he wanted to break her neck.

Surge loked in horror, and right after, in anger, as he looked up, he growled, as somethign built up inside of him "Let her go!" He cired out, and imeediatelly, he shoot a ball of pure iron from his mouth, which hit the toehr dragon right in the head.

He let go of her, and stumbled, before falling uncounscious to the ground.

There was a long silence, as both Surge and Lovix traded shocked looks, both of them trying to understand what had happened.

However, there were somethigns that were sure.

They had just atatcked two memebrs of the guard, and it, by itself, wa sa crime. However, the way that they attackled them was itself a much worse thing. For they, even not knowing how they managed to do it, or how it was even possible, knew that, if someone discovered, they would both be marked.

In face to that, there was nothing else they could do, except to go on with their original plan.

That same night, both dragons flew away from the scene, leaving the city behind into the moonlight.


	14. Draconia's Life: Past, Present & Future

The two moons were shinning into the sky, as they cast their mixed glow across the land, mixing red and blue in order to create a slightly purple tone into the sky, which cast an gosthly glow over the earth bellow it.

Gale looked at the position of the moons, to check the time that it was. It was in the beggining of the night, and there was still around eight hours until the sun would rise again. In that moment, he felt grateful that he was forced to have these survival classes back into his temple, for he had learned to survive. He and Obe would probably not have made it very far if it wasn't for the knowledge he gained from them.

He just picked up a few more fruits, now carrying a lot of them in his foreleg, and he finally flew back to their small camp.

Well, if that could be called a camp.

It consisted only into a fire made inside a small clearing big enough only to fit them both in there, and with barelly space for them to take flight, forcing them to walk to get in and out. Still, it was the best choice, for they were probably being hunted out since the village.

The place was good because it gave them a good covering, keeping them hidden, at the sqame time that prevented some aereal ambush, so, it was a good choice.

Gale barelly believed that it already made three days since the attack happened. Three days since Obe's temple was attacked and most dragons in there were brutally slain by these strange dragons. Three days since they were forced to run and hide in order to be able to stay aloive and keep all the others safe.

Three days since Obe's father was murdered.

Gale entered into their hidding spot that they had choosen for the night, and he saw the small fire that was made in the center. Near it, was the form of Oberon, curled over herself, looking saddly at the fire. Her face was still stayned by tears as she didn't even raised her head to look at Gale as he walked inside.

The grey colored dragon looked at her, and he walked close. "Hey, look what I got!" He sais, showing off the fruits he got. "The trees in here are great! It seems that it is in the harvest time! I guess we are lucky."

However, the smile that there was on his face weakened when he saw no reaction from Oberon. She only kept staring saddly at the fire, as if she hadn't even heard his voice.

He looked over, and saw the fruits he had separated for her i that same morning, they simply laid there untouched. She was refusing to eat since that day. She was refusing to talk to him, and she wasn't even sleeping. Gale had never saw her like that, and that was leaving him deeply worried.

However, he could understand. He probably would be the same way if what happened to her had happened to him. He could not imagine what would have happened to him and what he would do if he had saw his temple being burned down. If all the ones he knew from the temple, who were also his family, had been mercilessly slain like them. If his own father had died in frotn of his very eyes, by giving his life to save his'.

He could not even imagine what Obe was going through right now. He could not imagine the suffering she was passing, but he knew that she was suffering. Anyone could notice it only by looking at her.

He approached her, and he said gently "Obe, you need to eat." He said, putting a few fruits in front of her. She only looked at it, looking sad and tired, her eyes bloodshot from the crying. She shifted slightly, and Gale could get a glimpse of the bracers, which were still in her ankles.

They were still shinning as much as in the day night she showed him the first time. They were somewhat stained with dirty and mud, that they got from the three days out in the wilderness. They were also stayned by small dropplets of blood, which came from the wounds that Oberon had around the bracers. She had got these wounds by trying to get them off. She had spinned, pulled, bitten and scratched them in attempts to make them come out, but all these attempts proved to be fruitless. Gale had to stop her from trying to take them out when he saw thyat ehr attemps were hurting herself, otherwise, he feared that she might ended up bitting her own paws off just to get the bracers out.

The bracers had got stuck in her arms and they had not moved since that day. It was like the bracers simply _didn't wanted_ to come out. And these bracers were the cause of everything. Because of them the temple was raiden and burned down. The leader of the dragons in armors was searchign for these bracelets specifically. It was totally clear since night one.

Oberon noticed his look at the bracers, and she goraned to herself, and hid them under her wings. These bracelets only served to remember her what she had lost. All the lives that had been lost that day uselessly. These two bracelets were the cause of all her misfortunes. And now she couldn't even taken them off to throw them away and never have to look at them again. Maybe they were cursed...

Gale looked at her, and he sighed. "Obe, you need to eat." He said, gently pushing the fruits to her, and she only looked at it, and turned her head. Gale sighed at this. He knew that it wuld take time, and he knew that pushing her would not help in absolutelly nothing. He really wished that he could do something.

But he couldn't, there was nothing he could do about it. He knew it. He knew that nothing he could say or do would be able to ease her pain inside, no matter hiow much he tried. This time, he simply could not help her. And this pained him very much.

He could only sigh, and said, "Well, I'll leave it here, in case you feel hungry." He said, and looked at the night sky, full of stars, and he added "Obe... At least try to get some sleep, okay? We will need to keep moving by the morning." And with that said, he silently walked away, and put the fire down with a small grey cloud that rained over it.

And then, he laid in the gorund, and he said, "Good night, Obe." And he lowered his head to sleep. All that was left behind now was the silence. A silence that made Obe's feelings feel even heavier.

She only curled over herself to sleep, only letting the feelings of sorrow and giref fill her deep as she reflected all that had happned exactly three days ago. She could still remember the fire. She could still see the scared expressions of the dragons who were held hostage. She could hear the cries and screams of all the dragons who were killed, even if she was not there herself to hear them. She could still see her father.

She could see his blood. She could still see the expression on his face when he died. She could still feel the touch of his paw gently over her face. She could still see the light leaving his eyes.

She shifted in her sleep, tears running down her cheeks as she remembered it. She could still recall it with disturbing clarity, as it had happened exactly as in that same night. She could see it everytimeshe closed her eyes, and she could still recall it with great clarity each time she tried to sleep, what made she wake up crying and panting. That was why she was afraid to go to sleep. She could not affort seeing that all over again. She could not handle it.

So, she was trying not to sleep, however, she had been doing it for some nights now, and this was taking its tool on her. She was feeling so tired and so exasted, and she could simply not hold it for longer.

She tried to stay awake. To stay away from the dreams that would only make her go through all the suffering of that night all over again. To see the fire, the blood, the black eyes of the leader of these dragons, and her father's death. She didn't wanted to go throught all of that again. She just would not handle it. She ws not so strong. She never was as strong as her fatehr and the rest of her cult expected her to be. Even with her abilities, she was not so strong. She didn't thguht she would be able to handle it if she went through all of that again.

She tried to stay awake and away from these dreams. However, the night she had passed fighting sleep had alredy weighted down on her, and she was finding harder and harder to keep her eyes open to keep the sleep away. She grunted a little, to try to shake that feeling of tiredness away, but it was not leaving. After a few minutes, it was becoming very hard to resist the urge to simply let her mind go and fal to the lands of dreams, didn't mattering what was waiting for her in there.

After a while, she finally succumbed to the sleep, and then, her eyelids closed, allowing her body to rest, as her mind drifted to the world of dreams.

* * *

 _The temple was burning all around her. She could hear the cries, the shouts, the screams. Her temple was being destroyed all around her and she could do nothing about it. She tried to blow wind, but her powers were nto working. She didn't understood why, she just couldn't do anything._

 _She even tried to move and to rush to there to do something, but she found that her forelegs were glued to the ground. She looked at the bracelets in ehr ankles, to see that they looked now mor like anklecuffs, and they were sackled to the ground by heavy shackels, rendering her completelly unable to move and to do anything._

 _All she could do now was to watch around her, seeing the temple burning, seeing the dragons in armors laugh and let out warcries as they raided and destroyed her temple._

 _She was horrified. She wanted to do something, but she couldn't. There was nothing she could do. She lowered her hed, and started top cry and to sob, as she could do nothing, and was completelly powerless over this whole thing. The cries and the sound of fire filling the air around her, and only adding to her desperation._

 _She cried hard, tears flowing continuously from her eyes and falling to the ground. She just wanted it to end! She wanted to shut out and to every to stop!_

 _Then, all of sudden, there was silence._

 _The cries and the sound of the fire had ceased, as well as any sound. For a moment, it seemed that even the wind had stopped to blow. Exitantly, Oberon raised her head, and she looked around. The world around her seemed to have frozen. Dragons, fire, and all the rest ws paralized in mid-air, not moving a single inch, as if someone had stopped time itself._

 _She blinked confused, as she looked around, tryign to make sense of this. During this, she saw one single figure moving, and it was walking in her direction. She gasped, and looked at the figure that approached her. That figure seemed to be enveloped into some kind of light, and it did not allowed her to see the exact features, but she could say it was a dragoness, definitelly a dragoness._

 _The dragoness come untilo she was near her, and stood right in front of her. For a long moment, neither of them said a single word. Oberon was looking the dragoness up and down, trying to make sense of any feature that could help her have a clue of the identity of that dragoness that was sitting in frotn of her._

 _She found nothing that would give her a clear idea, however, she felt somethign strange. It wasa feeling of familiarity, as if she already knew that dragoness. As if she was a friend that she had logn time ago and had forgotten. Oberon could not explain this feeling, but it was there, and it was somewhat unsettling._

 _But, thinking again, it was not much more than the fact that the whole world was literally standing still as she and the dragoness seemed to be almost making an staring contest._

 _After a while, Oberon decided to finally talk, and she said, "Hmmm, hi?"_

 _The dragoness answered, "Hello, Oberon Strongclaw."_

 _The voice was very kind, and yet, it was filled with some short of strange energy, that inspired both awe and calmness at the same time. However, Oberon still jumped slightly when she heard her voice, for she had not actually expected an answer._

 _The dragoness seemed to notice her fear, and she said, "Don't be scared." With a very gentle tone, yet, a voice full of power behind it. "I'm not here to hurt you."_

 _For some reason, Oberon felt like she could trust that misterious dragoness. She just felt it, and somehow, it was exactly what she was doing. She felt much more relaxed, but this only lasted until she looked around one more time, and saw the destruction that ws all around her._

 _"My temple..." She started, but the dragoness seemed to already know what she was going to say._

 _"There is nothing to be done."_

 _"We hafe to save them!" Oberon said, looking around. "The time has stopped, right? We can use this and help them! Take them all to safety."_

 _The dragoness looked at her. Oberon could not make out her eyes, however, she knew that the dragoness was looking straight at her. It was a sensation inside of her. She could just feel the look of the dragoness over her._

 _"It has already happpened." The dragoness said, as the scenary around them satrted to vanish. "We cannot change the past. We can't change what happened. I'm sorry."_

 _She semeed to be genuinelly sad when she said that, as Oberon could notice, and the temple on fire around them have vanished completelly. Now they were standing in the middle of a white void._

 _Oberon looked down, and saw that the shackles in her arms were no longer shackles, they were the bracelets. The same that had caused all of this mess._

 _"I can't belive all of that was because of these." Oberon said, more to herself than to the dragoness. "They can't be that valuable."_

 _"They are." Said the dragoness, still enveloped by strong white light, and she said, "It is not because of their value in gold or jewels, but because of what they can do."_

 _"Huh?" Oberon said, looking at the dragoness. "W-what do you know about this? Who are you?" She asked her, now wanting some answers. The dragoness looked at her, and she said. "Young child. Do you mind if I tell you a story?"_

 _Oberon didn't got why there was this sudden change, she wanted to tell her that she had no time for stories, nd that she wanted answers. The dragoness seemed to read her mind, because she immediatelly said, "I'll give you all the answers that you need, if you listen to my story."_

 _Oberon looked at her for a few seconds, and after a while she decided to go with the flow. Closing her eyes and giving a defeated sigh, Oberon simply nodded her head, signalling that she was accepting._

 _"What kind of story is that?" Oberon asked, and the dragoness said, "It is one story that gives birth to many other stories."_

 _"It is one story that is related to the past, before your own story could began. It is one story that might tell you many things, and give you many answers. Both the ones you seek right now, and others that you didn't knew that you needed. It is one story that you might be the frist dragoness to know the_ true _version."_

 _Oberon looked at her as she developed it. Oberon was having a very strange feeling, that was awfully familiar to her, as it was everythign about that mysterious dragoness._

 _"What story?" She asked, and she gave one step closer. "Who are you?"_

 _As soon as she made that question, the light started to subdue, and for the first time, she was allowed to have a good look into the dragoness that was right before her._

 _She had a slender body, and a very magnificent look and pose. She was covered from head to tow into jewels, all of them having in them one or more precious stones, all of them of different colors, all which seemed to be worth more money than it should be possible to have in the world. She had a ten long horns crowning her head, and her tailblade was shaped like a lance. She was beautiful, and her eyes were of a pure gold color, and they seemed to shine on their own. However, the most striking feature, was the regal purple that was the color of all the scales of her body._

 _Oberon's eyes widened, when she seemed to realize just who was standing in front of her. All of the appearence of her that was shown, now allowed her to easilly recognize that dragoness. From all the paintings, and statues and all the vittrals from her temple._

 _The purple dragoness smiled at Oberon, and she said, "My name is Draconia, and this is the story of how I became the goddess of dragon kind."_

 _Before Oberon was able to form any kind of word or to even articulate a coeherent thought at what was happening in fornt o fher in that same moment, the world around her started to change._

 _Blinding white light flowed all the ambient around her, and the world itself spun as if she was inside a hurricane._

 _It lasted only less than a minute, though, for soon, the light was subsiding, as shapes started to form into the world around her. Soon, Oberon herself felt like she was beign dragged inside the world, as if she was becoming only a part of it, and only an espectator, as the lights itself seemed to bent to form something._

* * *

 _It was inside a great construction, in it, along the hallway, walked a lonely young purple dragoness. She had a slender body and her head was adorned by ten long and slender horns, curving backwards as if they were really a crown. She had a neutral expression and her golden eyes were focused on the path ahead of her as she walked forward._

 _The hallway in which she was had a long, metal wall in one side, while the other was a long wall of panel glasses forming windows, which gave vision to a magnificent city, all constructed into iron and glass, all and each bulding raising magnificent from the ground against the purple colored sky, illuminated by a big, white sun._

 _The young dragoness looked to the side very briefly, to look at the city in which she lived. She would have stopped to take a good look at the brightness and the beauty that the city was in this beautiful day, with barelly no clouds and their sun shining. But she knew that she didn't had time. She had to be in class soon, otherwise she woudl be in trouble._

 _She looked forward to the hallway she was in and she started going faster, almost running in her way, before she finally arrived in a big metal door. She stopped in front of it, and in a few seconds, one artificial voice said, "Please, identification."_

 _"Draconia Agmalias." Said the young purple dragoness without one second of hesitation. "Coming for the particular classes with Mr. Karunian."_

 _There was a few seconds, as the small red dot on top of the door emitted a stream of red light, which passed by the purple dragoness from her head to her feet. Draconia remained perfectly immobile as she was scanned, and after a while, the door said, "Identity confirmed. You are late. Mr. Karunian is waiting for you."_

 _Draconia rooled her eyes, and she soon walked inside._

 _After another quick hallway, she found herself in the middle of yet another room. This one resembeld very much a dojo, with a floor covered into some short of substance that was used to mimic soft grass. There were several targets placed around the place, and the walls... actually, it seemed that there were no walls, once the place seemed to be an large, open field, with the purple sky above and with the white sun shining down at them, as the grass-like floor seemed to expand forever._

 _In there, there was a single adult dragon, who looked at Draconia. This dragon was a very imposing figure. Like the young dragoness, he was purple in color, but his scales had a stronger and darlker shade of purple, with a few white streaks over his paws and on the side of his neck. His horns were long and heavy, and he had seven of them on his head. His tailblade was shaped like the edge of a sword, and it looked like could be a very deadly weapon during a battle. Even if this dragon was scary, in many aspects, the expression on his face was far from it. His expression was serene and calm, and his shappire-colored eyes seemed to be welcoming and very shooting as they looked at the purple dragoness._

 _Draconia looked back at the dragon, and she bowed slightly, "Sorry for the lateness. I had troubles to get here." She said, and the older dragon, her teacher, simply said, "Yeah, I imagined."_

 _He smiled at her, a calm and welcoming smile that made her all the more calm about it. He winked at her, and he said, "Well, since i was taking a meditative nap, I guess it don't have trouble, right?"_

 _Draconia smiled back at him, and the older dragon cleared his throat, and he said, "Well, lets start now, shall we?" And with that he gestured to the targets. Draconia nodded, with a quick "yessir" and she soon was ready._

 _She breathed deeply as she looked at the targets in front of her, and soon, she opened her mouth, and a stream of flames flew from her mouth, coming from inside of her, and it hit the target deadly in the center, making it explode in flames, and soon, it vanished._

 _Draconia turned to the other targets, and she repeated the process. However, this time, one bolt of pure lightning flew from her mouht, hitting thetarget right in the center. The target trembled and soon it vanished, explosing into dots of data and energy._

 _Draconia turned to the next targets, and she repeated it three more times. In the first, she let out a ball of pure spinning wind, which hit the target , making it fly away and dematerialize into the air. In the second, she shoot several shards of stone, like a machine gun, and they all hit the target, making it be completelly pulverized as it vanished. Finally, in the thirdy target, she shoot a stream of very focused water, like a geiser, which would create a very damagin attack to any other target, making it be destroyed only by the sheer power of the stream, as water hitting any target._

 _However, the water seemed to hit something before it could hit the target, as if there was a invisible barrier around said target._

 _"Huh?" Draconia looked surprised at the target, and she looked at her teacher, who only smirked back at her. She took only a moment to realize that she had to figure it out somehow._

 _So, she looked at the target. At first glance, it seemed that tere was nothing out of the ordinary about it. Draconia took a deep breath, and let go a wave of ice icicles over the target. Once again, the icicles hit something that seemed to be a barrier, as all of them broke into pieces right beofre they had hit the target square on._

 _Draconis snalred slightly, and she breathed a turrent of flames, and they had the same effect, as if the fire had hit a barrier in the middle of the way. The target still rested there, peacefully, as if nothign was happening around it._

 _Draconia looked intently at the target. There was a barrier around it, and there was no doubt. Liquids, solids, and even energy seemed to be blocked out by the barrier. However, the barrier had to have a weak spot. It just there had to have a way of getting through it. Well, it would be easier if the barrier was not invisible..._

 _Wait._

 _There is it!_

 _It is invisible! This means that it can't be perceived by normal sight. It can't be perceived because light did not bounced back in it and came back. The barrier didn't blocked light!_

 _Draconia smirked to herself, as she had just figured out the solution to this riddle. She took a long breath, and soon, some white shine started to form into her mouth, and she opened it, and a coeherent stream of the purest light jumped out of her mouth, and flew right in direction to the target._

 _As the young dragoness predicted, the beam of light passed straight and hit the target right in the center, opening a hole in it, as if there was never a barrier around it. The beam of light continued its path past the target, dissapreaing in the distance, when Draconia finally stopped._

 _The target now had a hole on its center, and it soon dematerialized into dots of data and energy, just like the others. Draconia stood there, with her chest puffed out in pride, as she looked at her teacher. The older purple dragon looked at her, and smiled, saying, "Well done."_

 _This was enough to make the young dragoness' ego swell a little more, and she had her head high in a sigh of pride. Her teacher could only chuckle at himsef, and he said, "So, lets continue with the training now, shall we?"_

 _"Yessir!" Said the young dragoness as she looked at her teacher, and soon, he looked up, and spoke, "Training session 0225h6889, starting now!"_

 _The room itself than started to change, until they were in the middle of a vulcanic ambientation, and soon, createres emerged from the ground. They seemed begins made out of magma and rock. Draconia smirked, as she took the first line, as the creatures started to advance against her. Her teacher only stood into the background, watching intently as his studdent started to train._

* * *

 _Hours passed, and the vulcaninc terrain was won, as well as the ones that cmae after, which varied from a swamp enviroment to a enviromnet of sky, and even an enviroment of near total darkness. Finally, they had finished the training into a great forest, and pieces of destroyed wood from the plant creatures that had appeared to fight laid destroyed all around Draconia._

 _Soon, all these pieces started to vanish, as the voice said, "Training complete." And soon, the ambient all around her started to vanish, and soon, she found hersefl in the place that she really was, a wide room with white walls all aroudn, with blue circuit like lights into all the walls, floor and ceilling._

 _Draconia smiled at herself for havign completed all of the challenges that had came in her way, like she did everytime. She looked back, and she saw her teacher, walking to her with a smile on his face, and he said, "You only get better and better each day, Draconia."_

 _"Thank you, Mr. Karunian." She said, and the older dragon chuckled, "I already told you many times, young girl, you might call me Ominon."_

 _She nodded, but the older dragon was alsmot sure that it had enetered by one earhole and came out by the other. The young purple dragoness was too used to treat others formally to allow herself to call her teacher by his first name. It didn 't mattered if they had been meeting each other for a few years now, and that they had gotten really close, to the point of she sayign that he was one of her best friends, she still kept all the formalities._

 _The older dragon looked down at her, and he said, "You still amaze me as how quickly you are developing. If I myself was as skilled as you when I was your age." He said, and he let out a sigh, and he looked down at her. "That thing you did last is new, isn't it?"_

 _She smiled, and she said, "Yes, it is, I was able to form condensation by combining the water and wind, and the crete electricity inside the condensation to create an eletrical storm over the area!" She was very proud as she said it. And her teacher chuckled with her too "I'm glad to see that you are still training on your own, like I suggested you to do."_

 _"Yes, and I'm still improving!" She said it rather happily. "At this rate I'll quickly be the best!"_

 _The older dragon looked at her for a few seconds, and he seemed about to say something, but it seemed that he had second-guessed it, and now he was looking away, in silence. However, draconia noticed that he had suddenly adopted another kind of look on his features. He almost looked... guilty?_

 _"Mr. Karunian?" She asked, and the older dragon seemed not to notice, as if he was thinking on somethign far to absorbing to give her proper attention. She looked at him, and she said, "Ailary?"_

 _Hearing his first name seemed to make to older dragon return to reality, and he looked down at the young dragoness, who was looking up at him with worried eyes. "It is something wrong?" She asked him, and the older dragon looked down at her for a few moments, as if he was wondering what answer he should give to her._

 _After a while, he smiled, and said, "Nothing at all, young one. I was just distracted."_

 _His expression said that it was all okay, so Draconia only nodded, accepting the answer her teacher was giving to her. Soon after, he said, "Well, I think this is our training for today. You betterget going, your parents aren't going to be very satisfied if you get late."_

 _"Oh, right!" said the young Draconia, and she said, "See you tomorrow." And she quickly went to the door, and walked outside, leaving the older dragon alone in the room._

 _As the doors closed, the older dragon dropped his smile, and he lowered his head, looking at the ground. Even with all they had told him, even with all the excuses they had gave to him and all the facts they had exposed to him. One part of him lknew perfectly well that what they were doing with that poor girl was wrong..._

* * *

 _By his side, was Oberon, who was watching him._

 _Till now, she had been watching only as a passive onlooker. As if she was a oniscient presence all around the place, looking at everything, feeling everything and, untill a certain point, knowing everything. She had even knew what the young purple dragonss and the older purple dragon were thinking._

 _And she was barelly even understanding._

 _What was that? What was the meaning of this? What was that place? Who was that older dragon?_

 _Oberon was not sure of what she was seeing and what did it meant. She had just saw something that she could only describe as magic, as it was show into that room that changed. However, the rest was a total riddle to her._

 _For all she had been taught, Draconia was the ancient and first goddess. She was the creator of dragon kind, and as so, she was taught that Draconia had existed before all the other things._

 _Right now, however, it seemed that somethign else had existed before Draconia. Not only that, but also, it seemed that Draconia had already been younger at some point, something that did not exactly fit into the commom description of gods, since they all were already powerful. This was reinforced by this strange "training". As if she had to acquire power, just like any mortal would. And also, there was the fact that Draconia showed abilities that were, in a way, very similar to her's._

 _And there was that older dragon. Who was he? He was another god? A god that had existed before Draconia? If he was, then why Oberon never even heard about him before? Surely, the god who was responsible for helping Draconia becoming powerful should have been mentioned in some vertent of the religion. Maybe he was so ancient that he was long forgotten?_

 _The more Oberon thought about the things that were being show to her, the less she seemed to understand. What was that palce they were in? It was the realm of the gods? It was a celestial place? What was the meaning of all of that? And what it had to do with the what had happened to her?_

 _As on clue, a voice suddenly answered._

 _"Yes, I admit it is hard to understand."_

 _She quickly turned her head to look at Draconia, who was right on her side. The goddess of dragons had a very serene expression as she looked at her, and soon, her vision turned to the purple dragon who stood in there, and her eyes melted in the purest sorrow._

 _"His name was Ailary Karunian." She said, as if she could feel the question forming into Oberon's mind before she was even able to make something coeherent from it. "He was my teacher when I was really young, many eons ago, and he was also my dearest friend."_

 _Oberon looked at him, who seemed to have froze in time, along witht he ambient around him, just like in the fire, and she looked at Draconia. She realized that Draconia had said that he_ was _her teacher and friend. In the past, as if he was not anymore._

 _"What happened?" She asked, and then, Draconia looked at her. In her eeys, she saw sorrow and grief, and after a few seconds, Draconia answered to her, her voice full of sadness._

 _"He died long ago." She looked at the ground as she said it. "He sacrificed himself to save me."_

 _This had send shivers up Oberon's spine. The way Draconia talked it was if it was almsot physically painful to her. Oberon looked back at the purple dragon, taking a very good look at his features. After a while, she turned back at the purple goddess, and she asked, careful not to make the purple dragoness even sadder than she alredy was. "H-he was a god too?"_

 _Draconia let out a heavy sigh, and she looked at Oberon, and she said, "No, he was a mortal. Just like I was at that time."_

 _These words made Oberon mind stop as she processed what she had just heard._

 _She... she had heard it right?_

 _Draconia was... a mortal?_

 _That... That just...just didn't made sense... That went exactly against all she had always been taught into the most basic of the religion. Draconia was a goddess, and she ahd always been, who had come from above in order to create life into the earth in the form of the dragons. Creatures that she had made to her image and resemblance._

 _Knowing that the great purple goddess had once been mortal..._

 _This information not only made her question many of what had been taught to her, but also, brought to her mind a whole new wave of questions, questions that no one would have probably even wondered to make._

 _Draconia only looked at the other purple dragoness as she saw the confusion spread through her features. She knew that the young one would have a hard time dealing with this, Draconia simply stood there for a few moments, as she let what she had just said sink into her mind enough so she would be able to continue with the young one keeping track of what she was saying._

 _"I'm sure it is a lot to take." The goddess said once Oberon seemed to have becoming more aware of her surroundings, and the younger purple dragoness looked at her, and she mumbled. "W-what... who... how..."_

 _Draconia soon said, "Sorry, I guess I went to forward. I should have explained better." She apologized, and soon, she was speaking, "Well, the first thing you should know, is that I was born a long time ago, as a mortal, just like you."_

 _Oberon looked straight at her as she was driking on the explanation that the goddess of dragons was offering to her. "Your legends all agreed that I came from far beyond this world, and, in a way, they are right." She explained, as the world around decomposed in light, and she started to explain._

 _"I was born far away from the world you call your home." She explained, as suddenly, Oberon found herself surrounded by stars and galaxies, as she seemed to be floating in the void, alongside Draconia, who was giving all this explanation to her._

 _"I was born... here!" She said, pointing at one single globe that floated across the vastitude of the void. One small planet that floated among all the stars, and was relativelly close to a star that very much resembled the sun in her world, which was pure white in color._

 _"This is my homeworld, the place I have grew up into." Draconia continued to explain, making sure that Oberon was following all the explanation that she was offering to her. "My people still call it Ardalias. Sometimes I look at it, to see how thoings are still going in there."_

 _Oberon nodded, and she took special interest when Draconia talked "her people". She wanted to ask about it, and once again, as if she could read her mind, the goddess started to explain._

 _"I'm part of a race that developed in there far longer than you can imagine, child. We called ourselves Sautarians." She said to the young dragoness. "Our more striking features were the presence of the six limbs in our bodies, quite uncommon for big creatures with an internal squeleton. Also, we were easilly recognizable for our whole race had, for the colors of our scales, different sahdes and variations or purple."_

 _A whole world full of purple dragons... Dragons just like Draconia... Like her..._

 _Oberon munched this information, as she looked at that small ball of earth and water that was the place draconia had originally came from. She imagined what would be like living in a world like that, where everyone was just like you in color._

 _Then, one thought came over Oberon's mind._

 _"Hmmm, Miss Draconia?" She asked as respectfully as it was possible, and the older purple dragoness looked at her, and the younger dragoness looked at her. "During your... training, I heard you comment that you were going to be the best." She said slowly and carefully, knowing that it was smart not to anger the goddess of her kind. "Does this menas that... other people... from your kind... can also do these things?"_

 _Draconia looked at her with smart eyes, evaluating her, and Oberon felt somehow exposed, as if her very soul and mind were being examined by these watchful eyes. After a while, she seeemed to decide that Oberon was worth knowing, for she continued, "Among our kind, there is an even more distinguish feature that made us famous."_

 _Draconia looked at her as she explained, "We all have our own source of internal power, a short of 'magic', so to speak." She looked at oberon as she kept explaining, the younger purple dragoness had her eyes glued on her as she explained. "Some of us, the gifted ones, or the ones who worked harder for it, are able to awaken this internal force, or what we call Ark'tamuh, and manifest it as some special display of power, generating energy, events or even matter from our bodies, most of it manifesting as aspects of the nature powers and elements."_

 _"Like my wind abilities." Oberon thought to herself, and she only nodded at the older and much more imposing dragoness, who continued. "It is not uncommon for these abilities to be awaken or unlocked by someone of our kind, and them, these young gifted ones have to start to train with theiur abilities, in order to learn how to use and to control them."_

 _"So, all the ones of your kind can do all that you did?" Oberon asked, beign extremelly careful to remain respectful. However, she regreted having asked it, for in that moment, for a single second, she could see over draconia's face more sorrow than she thought it was possible to exist. If it had lasted one single moment more, she would have fallen to her feet, crying, begging forgiveness for making she feel that emotion, and trying to confort her the best way she could._

 _Luckyli for her, it lasted only a single moment, for Draconia soon took a deep breath, and resumed her usual behavior that she had showed until now. "Usually, the ones who awaken the Ark'tamuh manifest only a very specific form of it, resulting in each one holding a different form of it. For someone to be able to hold two different kinds of it, is something that is extremelly rare, and more than that was never reported in all of our history... Until I was born."_

 _There were a few minutes of silence, and Oberon remained silent, as it she imagined was the wisest thing to do at that moment, in respect for Draconia. However, she could not avoid to notice the look that the goddess had in her face, which was one that gave her the feeling that she was deeply moved by whatever it was. It was as if this matter was a rather delicate one, and it seemed that Draconia actually was not very found on talking about it._

 _"M-miss Draconia." She said, granting the older dragoness to look at her. "I-I see you are not very confortable talking about this." She said, slowly and carefully, not wanting to say anythign that would upset Draconia. "Y-you don't need to tell me this if you don't want..."_

 _Draconia looked at her, and she said, very calmly "I need, young one." She looked at her as she spoke that, "And also, I want. You passed by to much, and you deserve to know all of that." She took a deep breath,and she said seriously "You need and deserve to know the whole story."_

 _Oberon looked at her, and saw that Draconia was really fixated into telling her all of that. Of course, Oberon was not the one who was going to tell the goddess who created the dragons otherwise. She only nodded, as if in acknowledge. She still wasn't sure if it was all a dream or if it was something bigger. Whatever she was experiencing in that moment, she decided that it was time to simply go with the flow._

 _After a while, Draconia continued. "I was able, since a very young age, to control the energy inside me, and access the Ark'tamuh in a way that it would normally take a lot of years to accomplish. Though I clearly lacked the technique or the experience to use it, I could access a great amount of power by using it, and that, by itself was truly remarkable."_

 _The ambient around them changed again, and soon, they were into the middle of pure white, with a few "windows" around them, showing off a younger version of the dragoness she had just seen in the vision. And she was very young, and she breathed a big fireball from her mouth._

 _"I was remarkable at that time, both by the young age in which I awakaned my gifts, but also by the great potential I showed at them. So, it was no surprise that I was immediatelly signed to start the formal training. Sure, that was when things started to get more interesting. To everyone."_

 _The other windows all showed more images. Young Draconia surrounded by many other purple dragons just like her. Young draconia in a line of several toher dragons as a older and very bulky purple dragon looked down at them, as a general looking and checking at his army. Young Draconia repeating the process of breathing fireballs over nad over against several different targets. And there were many other images flashing through the windows._

 _One of them stood apart. It was an image of Draconia taking deep breaths, and then, she opened her mouht, and shoot forward what seemed to be crystals. Oberon looked at that window in particular, and so did Draconia, and the purple goddess continued. "Everybody was surprised when they saw that I could access more than one for of Ark'tamuh. They quickly labbeled me as a duo-user, and so, I started receiving very special attentions during the classes." Draconia smiled to herself, as if she was finding funny looking through these memories. However, she had not finished her explanation yet._

 _"However, as my training went own, the surprises didn't stopped there."_

 _As she said it, the windows flashed more images. Draconia breathing a blue mist that freezed a target at touch. Draconia creating a green glowing ball that was connected to her mouth by a long gree strand. Draconia breathing a great stream of water. Draconia letting out something from her mouth that remembered a cloud. Draconia making eletricity sparkle over her body. Draconia enveloping herself into what seemed to be shrounds of shadow all over her body. Draconia creating a ball of pure light from her mouth. Draconia breathing a long, spiked ram of metal._

 _"Overtime, my abilities only developed more, and it was clear from the begining that I was not like the other ones. That I was mnot like the regular users of the Ark'tamuh. That I was... special, as many had said." Draconia said to Oberon, who looked at the older dragoness._

 _"For what it seemed, I had a very particular, never seem before, actually, way of controlling my Ark'tamuh in order to achieve many different results." She spoke, looking at Oberon, "In just a few words, I could use every possible for of it, be it energy, matter or element. If it was possible to make it through the Ark'tamuh, then I could do it, all I needed was the main knowledge of how to access this specific form and I would be able to do it."_

 _Oberon could only look at her in awe, and she said, "Amazing!" She never imagined that it was possible! Sure, she had her abilitikes of controlling the wind for quite a while now, and she found it to be just the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her. Now, knowing that, for the purple dragons, the race from which originated the very own creator of her kind, it was rather normal, and that Draconia herself was a prodigy in the middle of this, it was just astounting!_

 _Even if it was all juts a dream, and it was only a fruit of her confuse mind trying to make sense out of all that was happening, it was something remarkable! Oberon couldn't even think about any kind of word that could possibly describe the feeling she was having from somethign so amazing as it was. The very own concept of it was just somethign beyond her imagination, and that was somethign trully and utterly amazing!_

 _She looked at Draconia, and the purple goddess sighed, and she continued "Sure, I was the target of all the attention from almost anyone, from researchers trying to understand my strange affinity with my abilities to great and famous teachers, who all wanted to help me." As she said that, the windows around showed many other purple dragons, of all kinds and shapes, all of them talking to a young Draconia._

 _"It must have been trully amazing." Oberon said, but once again, she regretted having said that, for that same shadow came again over the goddess features. She let out a long breath, and she continued, "In the start it was. However, soon I realized that it was not as good as it seemed."_

 _She sounded relly sad when she said that, "After that, all of my previous friends left me. I didn't understood why in the time, but now I know that most of them were jelaous of my abilities or scared of me." And the windows showed images of other young dragons walking away from Draconia, or getting away as she came near, or talking things about her in the distance. In all of them, there was a young Draconia looking sad._

 _Oberon felt sad for the poor dragoness, for a moment, forgetting that she was a powerful and nigh-onipotent goddess. She seemed just a child who was sad for not having friends, like many others._

 _"I enjoyed having attention, and to be so complimented by all the adults, but the price was that gthe other young ones walked away from me." She said saddly, and she let out a heavy sigh. "However, it wasn't as bad as what came in the following years."_

 _Oberon perked her head as she looked at Draconia, and she said, "In our world, we have already faced many threats, some having come from our own world, and some having come from others." As she said that, the windows flashed images of several of the purple dragons wearing very strange armors, and with some equipment in their paws that maybe could be weapons, but Oberon was not able to recognize. These dragons were probably an army, and they were doing several jobs, from helping dragons in natural disasters to figthing criminals. They were also shown into images of them fighting other creatures, different from all of Oberon had ever saw, all of them using armors and some short of weapons that Oberon also didn't recognized. They were all fighting each other._

 _"We faced several threats that came from other worlds, some neighbor to ours, others too far away." Draconia epxlained, and she said, "And, due to the great threat that these begins represented to us, and to all that we constructed, the users of the Ark'tamuh were more wanted than ever. They were the main enforcement from our army, and the best of the users were requiered to join."_

 _Draconia remained silent, as so did Oberon, as she had a sinking feeling that she knew what would be her next words. "I was the most powerful user of the Ark'tamuh that has ever appeared into our world." She said it, and Oberon knew immediatelly that she too, had been forced to enter into their army._

 _"I was just a litlte older than a teenager when I was convoked to serve." She said, recalling the memory from so long ago. "This was during a time that we were attacked by a powerful threat, coming from a world beyond our worlds. They were called Theganians, and they wanted to take over our world, and many others."_

 _As she said that, the windows showed images of creatures attacking the purple dragons. These creatures walked over two legs, and they had two pairs of arms into their torsos, as well as long tails ending into mean-looking spikes. They had long muzzles and their bodies were covered into feathers, and they were wearing bodily armors and using weapons which (of course) Oberon once agsain didn't recognized._

 _"They were very superior in armaments, and they had a great number." Draconia said, and Oberon listened very carefully, having got completelly caught up with the story. "However, we had something that they didn't had: the Ark'tamuh. And we used it against them."_

 _The windows showed images of the purple dragons using their elemental abilites against the invaders, and even showed them having some sucess into fightitng and even pushing them back._

 _"They were still strong, though." Draconia continued, "And it seemed that we didn't had hope..."_

 _Oberon looked at her for a few moments, and then, she said, "Until... you appeared?"_

 _Draconia looked at her, and this time, she smiled, and she said, "I had to protect my people, and to make sure that everyone was okay." The windows all now showed images of Draconia, dressed in armor, using all her abilities to find these strange invaders._

 _She was shown fighting groups of them single handed, and using all shorts of elemental atttacks and techniques in order to defeat all of them, one by one, or several at the same time. She was marvelous, juts like an heroine from the old tales of magic and adventure, only that it was much more grandious._

 _Oberon was totally marveled at these images that flashed to her in the several floating windows in the middle of white, and Draconia said, "It was a very though battle against these invaders. However, in the end, with the power of the Ark'tamuh, and the unity of our people, we were able to finally defeat them, and made them retreat back to where they had come from." Draconia allowed herself to smile one more time. "In the end, we had won."_

 _Oberon looked admired at Draconia, in a way she had never looked before. This she had just saw and heard, was beyond all the histories that she had ever heard in her life. It was the story of the battle of the great goddess against the evil forces that tried to take over everything._

 _That was simply amazing!_

 _"Wow, you were a heroine!" Oberon said, and Draconia looked at her, and smiled lightly._

 _"Yeah, I was." She said, "For a time, I was cheerized by everyone. I was a great war heroine, and at a very young age. It seemed that everyone had me for their role model, and I became one of the most prized citizens of our world."_

 _After a few moments, he smile faded, though, "However, it was not bound to last."_

 _Oberon looked at her, as she continued, "A few months later, I was once again convoked, and this time, I was under a very rash training routine. I didn't understood why of that, once the war had ended, and there were no immediate threats to our world."_

 _"After a while, I finally starfted to understand that there was something strange about it." She said, as the windows flashed more images, to illustrate what she had just said. "But, it was only when Ailary came to me again, that I discovered the whole truth."_

 _"Your old teacher?" Oberon asked, and Draconia nodded. "He came to me into a night, and I have never saw him like that. He looked as if he had been woke up for several days, and it also seemed that he had been crying."_

 _"I was confused to see him at a time like that and in such a state, however, he immediatelly told me that he couldn't do it anymore, and couldn't let them do it to me."_

 _Oberon looked at the purple dragoness, as she continued._

 _"Ailary told me that they were training me to horne my abilities with the Ark'tamuh. Not because they wanted to help me, but because they wanted to use it to military purposes." She said it with a resentful tone in her voice. "They were trying to turn me into a weapon."_

 _Oberon could not hold back a gasp and the shock in her face when she heard that._

 _They tried to turn her abilities into a weapon?_

 _Draconia noticed the look in her face, and she continued, "Though my abilites were used in battle, it was only for the defense of my world and my people, and always to fight enemies who attacked us. However, some military leaders from our world wanted to maike other uses of my particular abilities, as a weapon to achieve domination of other worlds." She had a look of pure scool on her face "They wanted to turn me into a thing that theu would use to attack and subdue innocent people, who never did anything to our kind or to anyone else. They wanted to use me only as a source of power, and they have been planing that since the day my abilities showed."_

 _"They passed the years honing my abilities and seeing the true extence of them, trying to figure out just how much power I've got, and how they could use it. The event of the great war, it was only the chance that they needed to test my abilities into a true combat, and for them, I was sucessful beyond their previous expectations, and they wanted to move to the next step: to teach me how to be a merciless killer who only followed orders, and turn me into the perfect conquer weapon."_

 _Oberon only heard it atonished, Draconia looked at her expression, and she said, "I'm pretty sure I had the same look in my face when Ailary told me that. I coulodn't believe at first, but in the end, I saw the truth in his words. He told me also that he had taken part on it, that he had knew the reason behind all of my training, and he allowed it. However, he had regretted all of it, and he had decided that he simply couldn't let them do this to me anymore. That was why he was telling me all of that, and was why he was going to help me escape."_

 _Draconia let her head hang, as she looked at the pure-white ground of nothingness beneath her. She took a deep breath,a nd she continued "Of course, that would mean going to far away, to where they would never find me again, and I would have to let behind my world, my home, my family, all I had ever knew. But, after all that he had just told me, and knowing their true intention behind all they ever did, I didn't even needed to think twice before making my decision. I'd rather die than let them use me as some weapon to hurt innocent."_

 _"So, that same night, we sneaked way, in direction to a place where we kept our vehicles. Special things we used to travel from one world to the other. And we planned to go into one that would allow me to escape and go to a place where they would enver find me."_

 _"At a point, we proceeded without troubles, however, things got complicated real fast." She said, seeming very serious, after all, she was telling something that_ was _deadly serious. "At some point, someone notuced that I had sneaked out from the place I should be sleeping at, and the alarm was given. Soon, they were searching for me everywhere. We knew that we had little time."_

 _"We rushed to the main port, where we could get a transport to take me away from the world, and sent me to a safe place. We had to avoid the other guards from the place, and we had even to fight some of them in the process. We were sucessful, and we were able to make it to the ships, and we managed to find one that had all the capacity to take me far, where they would not find me and try to use my abilities again."_

 _Oberon remained silent, and looked at the goddess, whose expression was becoming darker and darker as she explianed, and Oberon had a feeling that this didn't had exactly a happy ending._

 _"However, we were ambusehd by a group that was designed specifically to deal with sittuations like that." Draconia continued "We were quickly ambushed, and they didn't wanted to let us go. I was about to use my abilities to defeat them, but they used one of our artifacts to supress my abilities."_

 _"For a moment, I thought it as all lost, but Ailary proved that he was a faithful friend. He stood there for me, and he told me to go into the ship, and that soon he would be there with me so we could escape together. He said he would buy me time, and he did."_

 _Draconia let out a heavy sigh. "I watched as he faced them, and I knew that I didn't had time. I entered in one of the ships, and made all i had to do to get it ready, so we would be in it, moving away from our world, to a place where they would never find me."_

 _"Only when I looked to the outside, I saw that Ailary was having troubles to fight them. Though he was amazinggly skilled with the Ark'tamuh, he was not able to fight all of them for too long. I was about to go outsdie to help him, when he screamed to me, telling me to go now, before they would get me."_

 _She looked sad as she said it, "Only in that moment I understood. He didn't planned to met me inside the ship so we could be together. He planned to sacrifice himself in order to allow me a chance of escaping."_

 _"I refused, of course, and I planned to go out anyway and to help him. However, I didn't had the chance. In that moment, he was deadly struck by two attacks..." Draconia stopped, and she shivered at the painful memory "I can still see the blood... I can hear his cries of pain..."_

 _Oberon looked at her, and she remembered the memory of how her father died. She felt a wave of empathy for her, for Draconia, like her, knew how it was to lose someone dear. At least, it was what seemed. After a few moments, the purple goddess continued._

 _"I was froze, and I barelly reacted as the guards started coming at me, until Ailary knocked them away with his abilities, and he screamed at me, telling me to escape... He told me that if I didn't, and if I was captured again, his sacrifice would have been for nothing."_

 _"I knew that his wounds were serious, and I knew that there was nothing that could be done. I knew that if I went out, I would be captured, and who woudl know what would be my destiny... But, I wasn't worried about me. Still, I knew that Ailary had done all of that for me, to help me escape, and I knew that there was going to be no excuse if I made all of that effort, all of that sacrifice be in vain by letting myself be captured."_

 _There was silence, and after a few moments, Oberon said, "So, you escaped."_

 _Draconia looked down, and she continued. "Ailary kept fighting them, his wounds getting worse, and I had to escape. I activated the ship, and I started to move away from there. I looked down one last time, and I could see Ailary looking up at the ship. He was smiling, and was waving at me. The moment after, he was dropping to the ground. That was the lst time I saw his smile."_

 _She looked down as she remained silent, and after a while she let out a joyless chuckle, as she looked at Oberon. "You probably think I am a coward, right?" She asked her "The great Draconia, the mother of all dragons, running away with her tail between her legs... I bet that some people would find it funny."_

 _Oberon looked at her, and she said, "I would enver think it!"_

 _"Why not?" Draconia asked, "I think so myself..."_

 _"You escaped to prevent them from using your abilities to hurt innocent!" Oberon said to the goddess "You escaped to not end up only as a tool or a weapon in their claws! To be able to live free and to take your life in your own paws! You escaped to honor his sacrifice! The sacrifice he made for you!"_

 _Draconia looked at Oberon, and the younger purple dragoness continued, "There is absolutelly nothing wrong with that! I might not have known him, but I think that he would be happy for you to have escaped and been able to make it. He trully seemed to care about you, and by what you just told me, he was happy that you were going to be okay."_

 _Oberon finished it offering a smile to the goddess, and after a few moments, Draconia returned it. "Oberon, you are kind and gentle, and you are understanding." She said, "Nowadays, it is hard to find people like you, and believe me, I have searched for a long time."_

 _She blushed as she heard it, and Draconia could only chuckle in answer. The purple goddess recomposed herself, and she continued with her story. "Soon after, I left into th ship, moving away from my world, moving across the space, in search for somewhere I could be free."_

 _"I knew that they could not find me, so I had to go to a place where they didn't knew yet, into a world that was so far that it was unknown to all of us. I had to search for sometime, but I managed ot find that place. And it was in the world that now, you and all dragons call your home."_

 _One of the windows stood apart, and showed one strange shaped object landing in the middle of a grass field, and landing with a lound humming noise. After a few moments, it slided open, and an adult mortal Draconia stepped out of it, looking around herself, and taking deep breaths of the air of that new world._

 _"This world was very similar to mine, and it had all the conditions that allowed me to survive, and to live in here." Draconia explaine,d as the windows showed images of her adapting to the life in the new world. Finding food, and water, and making a home to herself into a cave, and overall, she seemed that she was living fairly in her new life._

 _"I even was able to make some friendships with the natives of this world, a group of slightly evolved creatures that livesd in tribes around this world." She said, and the images showed Draconia interacting with some tribes of ancient creatures, some which resembled primitive cheetas with long fangs in their mouths. "The first contacts were hard, but they ended up warming to me, and so, I became their friend."_

 _Draconia smiled as she recalled that, and she said, "I became a protector to them, and they quickly started to have a degree of respect for me, and also, during the time I was here, I had contact with the peculiar energies that painted this world."_

 _Oberon looked at her, and she said, "I kept training with the contorl of my abilities, and I was able to further them even more with the magic that flowed in this world, and soon, in just a few years in this world, I had achieved a level of power that I couldn't in a whole life of training back in my homeland. And yet, I had a great contact with the magic in here, learning rituals, and, in particular, I learned the magic that was naturally infused into the crystals and gemstones."_

 _As she said that, the windows flashed images of Draconia training and honning her abilities, and also, showed her doing some short of experiments with several different gemstones, as if she was testing their properties._

 _"I was able to live very well here. However, I still missed my home, and having others of my kind around." She admitted with certain sadness "Overtime, this sadness became a hanging anguish into my heart, to the point that I wondered juist what was going to happen as time passed by. There was a point that I fetl so lonely that I didn't even had will to keep moving and to live."_

 _She looked up as this, as if she was looking far into the stars. "There was a point that I almost gave up. Until I discovered the potential that the crystals trully had."_

 _She sighed deeply. "I knew that doing this would be risky, and that, if i did, I would be breaking several laws that always were knew by my kind and by nature itself. However, I knew that I needed to do it. I juts didn't wanted to be alone anymore."_

 _Oberon looked at her, waiting to know what was that she did. And Draconia soon answered to her. "With the knowledge of magic that I learned, and about the power of the gems, I made something that no one ever done before: I used the power of the Ark'tamuh to create life."_

 _Oberon' eyes widened as she looked at the goddess. Draconia sighed, and she said, "Using the raw power from my Ark'tamuh, and combined it with the power of the gems, I was able to generate new life starting from them. Turning each different gem into one egg."_

 _The windows showed images of Draconia enchanting gems of several different colors, and making they all shine brighter, as if each one had a star inside of them._

 _"And eventually, as any egg, they hatched. They were my children, the first generation of dragons."_

 _And the windows showed images of the gems breaking as eggs, and each one giving birth to a dragon, each one of different color, matching the gemstone from which the small dragonling had been born._

 _Oberon looked in complete awe, as she was witnessing the birht of the first dragons that Draconia has ever created. "These young creatures, my children, who I loved with all my heart, were the first ones that became of th race known as dragons. Each one enhireted my abilities, and each one had a different for of magic, from fire to earth. Overtime they grew, and they had their own children, and they started to populate this world with their kind."_

 _"These dragons soon were worshiping me. For them, I was 'the Great Mother'. The one who created their kind, the goddess of them. Overtime, with the faith they put in me, I felt that my power grew, until the point that, from a mere mortal, I was able to ascent to immortality, and I became a goddess, as you all know me now."_

 _Oberon just didn't knew what to say. That waht she just learned was astounting, and it had not ended yet, for Draconia continued. "Some of my children, the ones who also were worshipped, became gods too, and they turned into the Elder Gods, as you call us nowadays."_

 _Oberon nodded, and after a few moments Draconia continued. "The rest of the dragons, though still had the potential of the Ark'tamuh, use dit less and less, until it started to dissapear, and only appear into certain individuals form time to time, until it became only matter of legend, as well as the purple dragons."_

 _As Draconia finished, Oberon looked utterly amazed at her, and Draconia looked at the young dragoness, and she said, "However, things were still far from perfect."_

 _Oberon looked at her as she continued, "One of my children, a young dragon named Soul, was different from the rest. He was arrogant due to the power of the Ark'tamuh that we possessed, and the status that we had as gods. Though tmost of us wanted to let the mortals live their lives as they wanted, Soul was convinced that we should rule over them absolute, and that our powers granted us the right to rule over them as we pleased."_

 _Oberon remained silent. She had already heard about Soul, the fallen one. The one who betrayed the other Elder Gods by trying to destroy them and take all the power over the world to himself. He was a black stain in the story of the legends of dragon kind. A remembering that even the dragons, beings which were powerful and righteous by their own nature, were not above corruption, and could very well be lure and seduced by the wickedness, and become a danger to the world itself. Oberon used to have nightmares with the stories that they told her about the evil deeds of Soul, the fallen god._

 _"We tried to reason with him." Draconia continued, looking sad, "We tried to talk him out of that madness, and to make him see that the mortals had the right to live as they pleased. We tried to tell him that we had the responsibility to care for the mortals, and to look for them. However, we soon realized that Soul was beyond reasoning."_

 _"He had gone so deep into his arrogance and in his ambition of having power, that not even we could reach him anymore and make him see reason. He started to c reate chaos and havoc in the world, in order to make his own powers grow by feeding in the dark energies that were born from it. We tried to stop him, but he soon proved to be powerful. We had to all work together in order to defeat him, and yet, some of us didn't made it in the end."_

 _Draconia looked desperatelly sad when she spoke, "I lost some of my children in that fight." A single tear rooled down her face, and Oberon felt an urge to go to her and envelop her in a hug to confort her._

 _"After it was over, we had the matter of what to do with Soul. He might have created chaos, destruction and suffering all among the mortals. He might have tried to destroy all of us. He might be a monster beyond all forgiveness... But he was still one of my children. I didn't wanted him to die, no mattered how horrible were the things that he had done."_

 _Draconia let out a heavy sigh, as it was clear that it was still bottering her very much, after all these eons. "Instead of killing him, I have chosen to banish and improson him, through a ritual that only a purple dragoness could create. Through this, Soul would be forever banished, and he could no longer harm the world... At least, it was what I thought."_

 _Draconia sighed heavilly, "Maybe I should have listened to the others and killed him, for even now, he still creates havoc in the world. His influence is clear in all that happens in this world. The proof of it, is what happpened to your temple."_

 _"What?" Oberon said, and Draconia looked at her, "It was Soul who prepared the attack to your home. He made it so he could get these." She said, pointing at the bracers in Oberon's arms, "These bracers you wear now, are the very same artifacts I used to imprison Soul, so long ago. Now, however, he is about to escape and create more chaos, and you have to stop him."_

 _Oberon didn't knew what to say. She needed to fight a GOD? Was Draconia serious? How could se do it!?_

 _"I know you are scared." Draconia said, once again, giving the impression that she could feel Oberon's thoughts. "However, do not fear. You shall not face him alone. You will have the help of your friend, and of many others, who you will find among your way."_

 _"The power of the Ark'tamuh did not dissapeared completelly from dragons, instead, it focused in each one of you, remaining dormant, and waking into certain individuals. The bracers you have will help you locate the holders of these powers, and together you may be able to defeat Soul."_

 _"However, you might be careful, because Soul knows that these ones exist, and he will try to find them and destroy them before you are able to help them. You all need to be together in order to defeat him, and he will do the possible and the impossible to prevent it form ever happening."_

 _As she said that, a small light materialized in her claw, and it soon cleared away, to reveal the most beautiful flower that Oberon had ever saw in her life. It was all purple with golden colors in the center and in the edge of the petals. Dracnia smiled softly, and she said, "This is a flower native of my homeland. It is called 'Gift of Life'. It growns in the harser environments, and it is said that each one of its petals has enough power to sustain someone for a whole day. In our culture, it was taken as a symbol of life, and how it may win over all the adversities and go on even in the harder times."_

 _She appraoched Oberon, and gently held Oberon's paw, and put the flower in her grasp. "This is a symbol that life shall prevail in the end, and even among the darkest of times, there is still hope for the future. Remember that always, and don't let the despair take your heart. Trust in the inner light inside of you, and you will be fine."_

 _She smiled at Oberon, who looked at her. She then said, "Now you must go back. And remember: no matter how catastrophic a sittuation may seems, there will always be hope, if you kindle your inner light."_

 _She let go of Oberon's paw, and walked away slowly, "Now you must go... Wake up now, Oberon... Wake up!"_

* * *

Oberon's eyes snapped open, as she found herself back in that same clearing where she had slept at night.

She raised her head and looked around, seeing Gale already up, and with some more fruits in his paws.

"Ah, finally awake?" Said Gale, and he placed the fruits down, "You were umbling somethign in your sleep, were you having a dream?"

A dream...

"Y-yes..." Oberon said, "I-it was a little strange."

Gale looked at her, and he said, "Well, maybe you can tell me while we eat. And seriously, we are not moving from here until you eat some- where did you go tthis flower?"

The question caught oberon off guard, and she followed Gale's gaze, and she saw just what he saw, and her eye widened in a shocked atonishment.

Resting in her paw, with her claws wrapped around it, was one single flower. One purple one with golden button and the edges of the petals.

It... it was...

"I never saw a flower like that." Said Gale, once he had gotten closer to take a better look. "Wow, it is really beautiful, where did you found it?"

However, Oberon did not answered, as she only kept looking at the flower in her claws, her eyes widen, and her face still atonished, as if that flower was something from out of the world.

"Obe?" He asked, and after a while, she said, "Gift of life..."

"What?"

She slowly got up, her legs slightly shaken, as she held the flower in her claws, and looked straight at it, as the meaning of that sank into her mind.

It was not only a dream... That flower was the proof.

It was the proof that what happened to her was much more than just a dream! And that mean that she had really been with... And they really talked about... And she had told her that...

Oberon breathed deeply as she assimilated the truth of what had happened to her, and the true meaning behind all of that.

"Obe?"

Gale's voice called her back to the realit,y and she looked at her friend, who was looking worried at her, "Is everything okay?"

She looked back at the flower, and the whole dream flashed over her mind, specially the last warning that Draconia herself had gave to her. She took a deep breath, and she looked at Gale, and she said, "Hand me these fruits, I need to eat."

And right after, she added, "Also, I need to tell you one thing..."


	15. From Light and Void They were United

The sun was shining brightly into the sky. No cloud was in sight to taint the pure blue of the sky or to get in the way of the warm light that was cast over the lands by the sun, shining so bright.

The day was starting, and that was a very special day. Well, at least it was, for the kingdow of Luminazi.

This kingdow was famous for their great amount of mines, from which came the most of the gold of the lands, as well as the silver and other precious metals. However, most of all, these mines were famous for being the source of the most beuatiful and precious gems of all of the dragon kingdows.

Nothing was redder then their rubies, nor greener than their emeralds. Their shappires were said to be bluer even than the sky and the ocean. Nothing could compare to the shine of the diamonds that came from their mines, nor the almost mystical glow of their amethysts and oppals.

They were the source of all of the riches of that kingdow in particular, as well as the source of their fame, once thigns with such beauty were taking in very high regards by everyone, from artists to poets who talked about teh amazing beauty of their gems. It was a kind of thing that there was simply no match in the whole world.

This made the kingdow be one of the richest ones into the dragon lands, and made it be prosperous. However, this kind of riches also brough up enemies. People who were interested into the precious gems that they produced, or that were envy of their wealth. As a result, it was not rare for the kingdow to be under the threat of powerful enemies, threatening to rage war in order to have the riches of the mines for themselves, or wanting to bring the kingdow down in order to have more political power.

The machinations had been in there for a long time, and they were a constant source of worry for the kingdow, specially for it's only ruler, queen Laziria.

Laziria Lion was a dragoness, the rightful ruler of Luminazi Kingdow, and she was famous for her amazing beauty, as well as for her kind heart. Howeer, it was much more than that which made her famous. It was the fact that, years ago, she had broke one of the most ancient taboos of dragon kind: she had married someone outside of her species.

Her husband was Galahand Lion. He was one of the former leaders of one of the lion tribes that lived along the kigndow of Luminazi. He was famous for being strong, firece, but with a heart of gold. It probably was, for he was able to capture the love of the young princess, and she ended up marrying him.

Of course, this union was a source of shock, and also of outrage by some. There were reppercussions from everywhere. People were saying that this was an absurd, that it was a sin. Not only the dragons acted like that, but also the lions, who felt betrayed by one of their own leaders breaking such an ancient rule like that.

As a result, Galahand was forced to give up his title as leader, in order to be able to stay with her, and he was considered an outcast by the rest of his people. Laziria, however, was still being the princess. She was the only heir, and if she was disowned, then the kingdow would end up without a true ruler, and would invariably fall into chaos.

So, despite all the negative oppinin about her for havign chosen a lion to be her husband, she was still the rightful heir of the throne, and Galahand, as her husband would become king.

Of course, many did not accepted it well. Most dragons were not interested in having a lion as their king. Many tried to dissuate her from being married to her. Some said that he was only doing it in order to have the kingdow to himself, and that he was going to get rid of her as long as she was no longer useful to him.

However, they didn't understood the true love that was shared among Galahand and Laziria. Their love was pure and true, and there was notihng that anyone in the kingdow could say to break them apart.

She married him and, against all the expectations, she got pregnant of a child of him, which was a source of great joy for them.

Many wondered what kindof creature would come out of that egg. It was only a few weeks later, that what came out of it was a seemingly common dragoness, but which had some small hints of fur on her. Nothing too muhc out of ordinary, actually. That baby was healthy and was, in its parents oppinions, simply perfect.

However, ther was still people who were against the marrige and the rule of these two, and they were willing to do the impossible in order to prevent it from going on. This radical group was willing to kill them to preserve what was "the way things should be".

And, in that attempt to kill them, they were stopped by Galahand. He was able to save his wife and child, however, it came at the cost of his own life.

It was a hard blow to Laziria, however, she was forced to remain strong, for the shake of her kingdow and of her own child. So, she became queen, and started to rule the kingdow with wisdom and grace.

After his brave sacrifice, Galahand was taken as a hero, not only by his family, but by all the kingdow, and he was finally accepted by everyone, even if it was only after his death.

However, even the heroism of his sacrifice had not stopped the many plot against the kingdow, and that wa ssource of constan worry for the queen, once it seemed that her kingdow was never going to have peace.

However, even among all of the worry and the dark clouds that threatened to cover up the sky, bringing a terrible owen with them, it was still possible to see strands of hope shining.

And they came form a rather unexpected place...

* * *

Into the balcony of the castle of the kingdow of Luminazi, all worked into the purest white marble, sculpted into the most beautiful shapes all over the place, depicting beautiful images of dragons and flowers and precious gems, like the ones that cmae from their mines, there was a single dragoness.

She was a beautiful, even if her appearence was a little exotic. She was very slender, and she had slightly long limbs. Her scales were all of a creamy white, and her belly and wing membrane were of a silvery shade of blue. Her eyes were almsot golden in color, and they gazed ahead into the city that was the kingdow in which she lived. All about her was beautiful and eye-catchy, however, what was most striking about her appearence was the fact that, unlike many other dragons around her, she had fur.

It was not much, she usually cut it down as it grew to avoid people to stare at her for too long. Still, the fur was there, and it was enough to be noticed. Small patchs of white fur, forming a trail that went from her head to around her face and to the back of her neck. She also had some fur in the tip of her tail, also white.

Usually, if she did not cut it down, the fur would also grow all around her face, forming a mane of white fur. It was something that shye had enhireted from her father, an eternal memory of her ancestry. She usually cut it so it was more pratical, and also, made her "look more like a dragoness" as some people put it. However, she never cut it out completelly. She always purposelly let enough fur to be seem by everyone, so they would all klnow that, no matter what they said, she would never be ashamed of who her father was.

She sighed as she breather the morning air, looking down at the streets below, seeing all the creatures of her kingdow to mind their own affairs, taking care of their own lives. All the people who she was responsible for, and all the people who counted on her to be their future ruler, and to make the best she could for them.

She sighed, and in this moment, there was a knock on the door. She perked her head, and she listened carefully, when a voice came "Princess Larssinia?"

She sighed, and she walked back to her room, as she called out "Come in."

And so, in command, one older dragoness passed by the doors. It was one of the house maidens of the palace, and it was one she knew pretty well. She smiled at her, and she said, "Why, good morning, Rhirana."

The old dragoness, with grey colored scales and white underbelly and wing membrane, and with a lance-like tailblade, bowed her head slightly, saying "Good morning, Princess Larssinia."

The younger dragoness sighed, and she said, "Rhirana, there is no need for this. Just cal me Lars."

That was her. Larssinia Lion, the heir of the throne of Luminazi Kingdow. Lars Lion, as she preffered to be called. Her name was quite a mouthful in her own oppinion. Lars herself had a lot of trouble to say it until she turned ten. She grew used to use the short "Lars" to intorduce herself to everyone, and she grew used to be called like that by the ones who were closer to her.

Rhirana, the maiden, chuckled to herself, and went upright, and she looked at the young dragoness. "I always forget this, child."

Lars laughed a little at the maiden that had been with her for as lomng as she could remember. She was many thigns to her. She was he company maiden. Her nanny. Her confident. Her best friend. Her auntie. She was part of her family.

Rhirana sighed, and she said, "I just came to tell you that they will be here soon." Her mood had became somewhat gloomy, and Lars knew what she was talking about. "We need to get you ready for when they arrive."

Lars looked at her, and she nodded. She knew what she meant, and she knew what was the true meaning of all of that. So, sinlentyl, she walked in along with Rhirana in direction to her private washroom, to the place where she bathed in particular, with only the help of a few maidens.

She needed to get cleaned and to get ready.

She was going to get married.

It was a arranged marriage, of course, but it was still a marriage, and she needed to look good in order to it. Under normal circunstances, she would not accept a marriage like that. She wanted to marry for love, just like her parents did. However, she knew that it was not only about her. The own survival of the kingdow was depending on it.

Her gloom was no other than the prince of the neighboor kingdow, Halazar. This kingdow was very near Luminazi, however, it was a clear, almost screaming, difference among them. Halazar was a very poor kingdow, which had virtually no riches of their own, and the riches they had were poorly distributed among the people. There were some who were somewhat well in living, and there were many more who barelly even had bread to eat.

However, that kingdow had somethign to be proud of: their army.

Halazar's armies were known for being the more experients and the most powerful and fearsome among all the dragon lands. They were said to be nearly invencible. The point was, in all the militar history, they were not heard to have lost a single battle that they entered into.

They might not be rich or prosperous, but they were surelly fearsome. Any kingdow with a minimal of self-preserval sense would never go to war against them.

That was the main reason for why Lars was getting married.

Due to the great threatens given by the enemies of the kingdow, all of them aiming for their riches, the kingdow needed more force in their armies, to be sure that they would be able to protect themselves against their enemies. To be sure that no one in their kingdow was ever going to suffer in the hands of the enemies.

Soon, an alliance forget with the neighbor kingdow, so famous by the power of its soldiers, was the most logic course of action. The Halazar Kingdow itself had much to gain from an alliance. The riches came from the mines of Luminazi, which were so prosperous, would give them all the resources they could have to enhance their own riches and gain all the resources to be a great kingdow once again, for they would rebuild themselves and they would have all the food for their people, and they would make the kingdow be more equal among the citizens.

This kind of alliance would be one in which both would win. However, only a short term agreement was not what they needed. The problem of the enemies of the kingdow would always exist, and only a small amount of the riches of the mines would not be enough to solve all the problems that Halazar had and that their army was not able to solve. Both parts needed a more permanent solution to their problems, a lasting alliance.

There was when it came the solution.

Luminazi kingdow had a princess, and Halazar had a prince, son of the king, who was dissapeared for years. They were both of the same age. That was what needed for the deal to be striken.

A marriage was arranged, among the young princess and the prince. With their union, their royal families would become only one, and their very own kingdows would be forever united as one. They would share the same riches, prosperity and armies, and so, all of their problems would be solved. This was the perfect solution to all of them.

Of course, both Lars and the prince of Halazar were just kids when this deal was made, and sure they both would still have to wait until they were at the age of marriage.

Also, by being only kids, none of them could really understand the meaning of the marriage that was arranged, not only until they were age enough.

Lars wasn't very happy for someone have decided such an important prt of her life without ever asking her what she thought about it. It not helped that the decision was supported by her own mother. When she first knew about it, she became agnry, and started to distance herself from everyone.

However, as time passed by, and she matured, she came to understand that this was not only about her. That marriage meant much more than only her union with someone. It represented the very future of her kingdow, and of all the people who lived in it. She was the source of their hope. Of the hope for a better future, and she knew that. She understood now that she had a responsibility as their princess, and that she should do what she could for them and to make her kingdow be safe. Sure, she wished that she had not to give up her choice of marriage, still, she was willing to do it for her people.

That was the thought in her mind as she was taking a bath into the crystaline waters that filled her particular bathing pool. The warm wters washing away her scales, and with that, yet, they failed to wash away that heavy feeling on her chest as she was getting ready to embrace a destiny that almso tseemed to have been forcefully imposed to her.

"I heard a few things about the prince." Said Rhirana as she helped Lars to wash over her back. "They say he is handsome, and that he is very desired by all of the young ladies of Halazar."

She was clearly trying to make the sittuation brighter, and Lars knew it pretty well. The older dragoness alwasy was like that, making her best to make her feel better whenever she was down, and always trying to make her smile.

That was one of the many things that Lars liked very much about her nanny, and that was why she had stayed with her for so many years.

She smiled, though not as much as she usually did, for she knew that not even the greatest amount of good humor and happiness would take away that burden in her chest form that forced marriage.

Sure, she was ready to make the sacrifice for her kingdow, however, she oculd not shake away the nervousness in her heart for the fact that she didn't even knew who she was going to marry.

Lars had alwasy heard about him, but she always heard him being refered as "the young prince" or "the prince of Halazar". That was the true and greatest problem, the fact that she barelly even knew the name of the one who she was supposed to marry.

Of course, she knew that he was her age, but she knew nothign else. Was he beautiful? Was he ugly? Was he kind? Was he antisocial? Was he the kind of people who would be a wise and fair ruler? Was he just a spoiled brat? All that she had heard about him was gossip, and it changed from people to people, depending on who told the story.

Some said that he had over a thousand girlfriends back in his kingdow, and that he had lost his virginity before he turned 12. Some said that he had made a vow of chastity, and that he was planning not to ever have kids. Some said that he gave wild parties, and that he was famous for almost having destroyed the castle in one of these parties.

Some said that he was a gentleman and that he was a true paragon of good behaviro,a dn that he would gladly stand and fight to defent the honor of any woman. Others said that he was a pervert who went to have meetings with dubious companies and that he thought that he could threat anyone the way he wanted only becasue he was a memebr of the royal family.

However, they were all gossip that ran among Luminazi, and Lars had learned soon that gossip was not the most reliable source of information. So, basically, she had no way of knowing what kind of person the prince trully was. That was what worried her so much.

She was scared of him beign a person who she would not be able to be happy with. She was afraid of him being totally different form her, and that their marriage was destined to be a union without happiness or love.

The idea of living a marriage without love scared her deeply. That was the kind of thing that she would never be able to live with.

She was scared that she could not count on him to confort her when she ws troubled, or to be there for her when she needed. She was scared of not being able to share any short of connection with him, or to be able even to dialog with him. She was scared that, if they had children, the family would be one without love.

She was scared of not being able to share her secrets with him...

She shuttered at this last thought, knowing fairly well about the trouble of secrets. However, she didn't wanted to think about that, not now. It would be too much worry for her to be able to focus.

She was scared that some of the rumors were true, and that he was trully s person who she would not be able to be happy with. That he would eb the kind that would sneak away and have dates with other dragonesses, leaving her all alone. That he was going to be arrogant and selfish and he was going to make her unhappy. That he was even violent, and that6 she would end up beign afraid of being near him, as if he was a monster she would have to hide from.

All of these and much more worries plaggued her mind, as she thought in all possible ways that he chance of having a happy marriage could be destroyed. She had always wanted a happy marriage, just like she had saw that it was with her parents.

She was young at the time, still, she had very many beautiful memories of her father, of how he was strong and determined, and of how much he wa sa good father, and also a good husband. She remembered pretty well all of the times she had seen they both together, and they were always so happy. They were always there for each other. They cared deeply for each other and they would be ready to give anything for the other to be well and safe.

And, in the end, her fathe rreally did it. He had gave his own life for their safety. He sacrificed himself for them to be okay. That was the ultimate show of love, and the last act of loving that she ever saw her father do for them.

She let out a sigh as she remembered her father, and she felt again just how much she missed him. Once again, she cuahgt herself wishing that he was still there, to give her support, and to help her with waht she needed. Her father seemed to always know exactly what to say to shoote her and to make her feel better, even in the worst of sittuations. He was a big and strong lion, with a fearsome appearence. However, she never was scared of him, for anytime that he was near her and her mother, he became so gentle and so caring, able to give akind smile that seemed to make even the worst sittuanio look not so bad at all.

Her mother used to say that it was like, with them, he went from a beast to a gentle kitty. This always made her giggle, and made her father look a little embarrassed, but they all were able to laugh at it.

He was a wonderful person, and losing him had been the worst time of Lars life. She had been very close to simply give up on living, and she would have if it was not due to her mother and everyone around her giving so much support in that time of need.

Lars fought back a few tears that where threatening to come into her eyes. All the worries and fears that she had, summed with the pains of her past, scars that could heal but would never trully fade away, it was proving to be a challenge to her. However, she was not willing to be weak, not now.

She remembred herself that this was not about her, but with the kingdow. The kingdow that counted on her and that needed her to be strong now. She let herself only let out a sigh, as she son finished her bath, and she walked out of the bathing pool.

After quickly drying herself, she went or a selection of something to dress herself.

With Rhirana's help, she opted for a set of beautiful, but not overly extravagant, jewels. One collar of diamonds, and four rings fixated on her horns, all made of silver and decorated with sapphires and opals. These were some of the gems that had been taken of the mines. The best ones were chosen to be used to create the jewels which belonged to the royal family. However, Lars herslef barelly used the said jewels. She usually wore them only in very special occasions. Maybe the day of her marriage was special enough. Or so she believed.

Anyway, the sittuation seemed to be formal and important enough so the jewles would be a good use now. So, Lars put them all on, and checked herself in the mirror, looking at her reflection, as she got ready to face what could possibly by the face for the rest of her life.

She let out a long sigh, as she took the last minutes to convince herself that she was ready to this, and that she was doing it all for a greater purpose. She was ready, she knew it, and she only needed one more thing before she went.

So, walking away, opening a locked chest, she took out one object form inside of it. It was a shield, of golden and white colors, with the golden image of a lion's roaring head into the front.

She held it, and so, she walked out of her room and across the halls of the castle, Rhirana following her closely, without saying a word about the shield. And she didn't even needed, for she knew fairly well what it was about.

Someone who had seen her walking with the shield around, and not know what the shield was about, woudl think that she was heading to some fight or some combat. However, who knew well the story of that shield, would know the true meaning that it had to Lars.

That shield had belonged to no one other than Galahad, the lion, Lars' father. That shield was the only he ever used in his life, and it still beared the markings of all the battles that the lion had with it by his side, still, it showed to be almsot completelly new, showing that it was very well taken care of.

That shield was one of the few things that had remained of Galahad after his death, and that was why it was so important to Lars. It was one of the only things she had to really remember her father. It was her most precious treasure, not for any monetary preciosity, but because it brought back the memory of her father, and that made it be simply priceless.

Each time she held that shield, she was taken back to the times that she epnt with her father next to it. She remembered the times when her father held her close, showing her the shield as he told to her stories about all the perils that he faced with the help of that shield, and how he said that it had already saved his life. He told to her about how that shield was made for him by some of the best forgers of his village, and how it was given to him as a honor gift when he assumed as their leader. She remembered the times that he unreaveled the shield and gave it to her when she was going to sleep and was scared of the dark, saying that the shield was going to protect her from any danger that would ever come near. She could even remember when she was really young, and she stumbled into the shield for the first time, and her father would be there to pick her up and smile at her, showing that kind face that made even the worst of moments turn better, and would always make her smile in return.

Now he was gone. That shield was now a source of beautiful memories to Lars, and that was why she kept it as her dearest treasure. Each time that she became frustrated, or depressed, or when she was in doubt and scared of the future, she would unreavel it and she would hold it close, and she would even talk to it, as if she was talking to her father. That would always make her feel safe, feel protected and brave. It was like the shield was a channel for her to contact her father, no mattering where she was, she just needed to hold it and she would be sure that her father was just besides her, holding her just like he used to, and answering her words with his strong, yet shooting voice, calming her and giving her all the strenght that she needed.

The shield was not for physical protection. No. It had a much deeper meaning. She was taking it with her in order to have her father there with ehr in spirit. For her to know that her father would be there and would protect her, no matter what would happen next. As long as she had that shield within reach, she would feel that her father would be next to her, ready to help and protect her if she needed, and that was enough for her.

Soon, she and Rhirana had met with the queen. Laziria was a beautiful dragoness, just like her daughter. She was pure white in her body scales, with pink underbelly and wing-membrane, and her eyes were also pink in color. She had silvery horns in her head, four of them, all of them leaning backwards like the ones of gazzeles, and all of them beautiful. She was wearing a crown in her head, golden with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds in it, and she also wore some fancy jewelry, just like her daughter. She too was dressed for the occasion, after all, it was an important event.

Laziria received her daughter with a smile, tought it was clear that she was forcing it. She too was against the whole thign of arranged marriages, however, it was for the good of the kingdow, and it was a necessary sacrifice.

Laziria was amazed with the strenght that her daugther showed, being able to smile back, and to act as if it was nothing too big. However, Laziria could see well past her daughter, and she knew pretty well that she was doing a great sacrifice. She was giving up many thigns in order to hlep the people of their kingdow, and she was able to do it with a confident pose and a smile in her face.

To Laziria, it was a source of great pride, and she knew that, wherever he was, if Galahad could see how their daughter had grown, how she had became a strong woman, and how brave she was being right now, he too would be proud.

"Hello, mother." Said Larts to her mother, nuzzling her slightly with her snout, and Laziria retutned it with a smile in her face. And she said, "You look beautiful." As she smiled to her daughter, "I bet the prince will melt in the moment he sees you."

Lars was able to chuckle slightly, for a moment, forgetting about the problems and the worries. It was good to be able to find funny in the things, even if it was only for a few moemnts, as she got ready to the rest of her fate.

Soon after, when they were already done talking, they soon were on their way to the event of the day. Lars hd her father's shield in her back, and she was carrying it as she flew. Both her and her mother now were on the air, both heading to the official meeting of the two families before the event of the marriage.

For Lars, it was a very significant event, for it was going to be the frist time she ever met the prince in person. She was a little nervous... well, scared would be the better term. For the first time in her life she was going to met her husband in person. Well, they were not married yet, but they marriage would happen today, and by the time of the sunset, they would probably on half of their way for their nuptial night. Honestly, this part didn't s ared her as much. She was worried to arrive in there and discover that he was already the kind of man who she would never be hapy with.

Still, she flew silently by the side of her mother, with their scourt of four other dragons, their roayl guard, which came out with them in days like that. She was heading towards the meetign place, getting ready to face the day that would define the rest of her life...

* * *

"What do you mean by 'you don't know where the prince is'?" Aske Laziria to the other dragon, who was a old crippled one, with dull-gray scales and long jagged horns. He looked old enough to be Lars' grandfather, and he was companied by two other bulky dragons. The prince's scourt, no doubt. However, the prince himself was not with them, as both queen and rpicness expected him to be, and they were shocked when the old dragon, who was the royal concilour, said that he didn't knew where was the young prince.

The old deragon made a big bow to the two dragoness, and he said, "I'm terrible sorry for this, I really thought he would behave a little better today."

Lars and her mother shared a look, and they looked back to the aged dragon, expecting an answer, which he soon gave.

"The young prince does it sometimes. He never trully was very good with getting in place in the right hour, and he also usually is not very good in following instructions." He said, as if appologizing for the behavior of the bloom-to-be. "Sometimes he simply escapes like that and goes around. He says he does it to 'clean his mind', or whatever it is. He usually dissapears for a few hours, and he doesn't tell where he has been."

He bowed his head again at the two, saying, "Please, don't judge him wrong. He is a good boy, is just that, sometimes he has troubles to stay in place and to focus. But I can assure you that he is a good boy."

Lars and her mother shared another look. Okay, that was surelly unexpected. Laziria, on her way, was a little offended for the young prince simply 'sliping away' like that in a time of just a few hours before the marriage would start. It showed that he seemed not to take seriosuly what they were going to do and the importance of all of that.

Lars, on the other paw, was somewhere between relief and worry. She was relieved because she was deadly scared of meeting the prince first handly, and knowing that it was going to be post-poned was somehow conforting to her. However, she was also worried for the prince having dissapeare like that with so little time for such an important event, as if he was a kid wanting to skip bathtime.

The councilor once more appologized by the young prince's behavior, and kept saying that he was a good kid and that he was going to make it back in time for the marriage. Still, Laziria could not help but feel annoyed by the pricne acting like that.

Well, with the formal even having to be delayed by that... unforessen sittuation, Lars had a little more time to think for herself. She used this excuse to slip away and give a walk around the nearby places, while her mother set two guards of her own scourt to search for the young runaway prince, in addition the the prince's own guard, who were already searchign for him over the town.

"Trying to escape his marriage like that? Yeah, I guess it already tells very much about this prince." Lars could hear one of her mother's guards saying as she was walking away, and the other answered. "Yeah, it sure does. I heard say that last night, befofre they even came, he gave himself a huge bachelour party, with dragonesses brought to him from the nearby cities and no guests. He had all of them to himself until the sunrise. Do you believe it?"

"And now he probably went out to go flirting with someone else and leaves the princess waiting for him like that. Honestly, I would not be surprised if he does not even show up at all."

Lars was able to hear it all, and so, she walked away, the two guards never knowing that their own princess had heard all that they had said. So, none of them woudl ever known just how much their words had affected her, and made all the worried that already were in her heart somewhat grow even more.

What if they were right? What if he suddenly decided to leave and not come back? What if he thought that marrying was not the best for him? Sure, Lars too was insecure about all that marriage, but, if it didn't happened, that would be worse for her people.

Still, if he came back and married her, she would still be with him. The fact that he had sneaked away only hours before the marriage even begun was a preview of what she was going to pass by his side? She was going to be a wife that was going to stand there and remain silent as her husband sneaked away from her to flirt with other dragonesses?

If he was capable of that, then what kindnof king he would be? Wuld he be a bad king? Marrying him and making him be the ruler of her people would be worse than suspending the marriage and keeping things the way they were? How could she know?

She walked away, leaving the place where they had met and starting to stroll into the city. She needed to clean her head and to think more clearly. She even already knew where to go.

* * *

Minutes later, she was in the middle of a big garden. That was one of her favorite places in the city. This garden was created years ago, before she was even born, and it was one of the most beautiful places in the city. It was full of all kinds of flowers, from roses and lilys to daisies. It was a sea of flowers with several paths in soft grass for anyone to walk among.

Usually people came in there only to see the beautiful flowers that blossomed from the park. A lot of young couples came in there to have romantic meetings. Lars had already been there before with her father, who always brought her there during the spring, for her to see the beautiful show of colors that blossomed all around her under the light of the sun. It was even more beautiful in the morning, with the morning frosch reflecting the light and making it seem like the flowers themselves were shining, as if they had small stars or gems into each one of them, and creating a marvelous show. Lars had always loved that, and she always looked forward to the day her father would take her there again.

She let out a heavy sigh, as she rested her body into the soft grass, looking at the flowers that blossomed in front of her. Slowly, she reached for the shield in her back, and pulled it to her front-legs. She held it, and she gently passed a single paw over the the image of the roaring lion.

"Oh, father." She said as she looked at the shield, "I'm so worried about all of that."

"This day is being very hard to me. First I wake up and get ready. Thank I arrive na discover that the prince simply went missing." She looked at the flowers, and sighed deeply. "I'm worried at what kind of man he might be."

She looked back at the shield, and she continued, "What if I'm not happy by his side?"

Her voice carried all the fear and worry that it was expected in a sittuation like that. "What if he is a horrible person who will only make me suffer? What if he is not a good ruler for the kingdow?"

She lowered her head slightly, a little humidity forming in them. "What if this whole marriage is a mistake?"

There was no answer though. There was only the silence of the park, and the sound of her own breathing. The park was almsot desert now, for everyone was either helping to prepare the ceremony of mariage or getting themselves ready for it. After all, it was the marriage of the princess, and an alliance that would mean the best for the people. Of course that everyone would be somehow involved in it, even if not directly.

Lars sighed, as she looked down back at the shield, and she said. "I really wish you were here." She passed a claw gently over the roaring lion of the shield. "You always knew how to read people. I bet that if you met this guy in person, you could simply look at him and say if he was or not a good match for me." She said with a weak smile in her face, and she sighed.

"Oh, father. I'm scared." She said, and she was almost hugging the shield now. "Please, if you can hear me, please, give me strenght. I need to be strong for our people."

She was almost praying now. Praying for her father. Praying for his help in that hard moment. Praying for him to give her strenhgt and to somehow tell her that it was all going to be alright, just like he used top do while he was still with her. She wished to have him near her to give her support and confort. Now more than ever.

"Uhh, excuse me?"

A male voice suddenly came, making Lars almost jump as she looked to her side, and she saw another dragon in there.

He was a slightly bulky dragon, with deep-grey color for his body, and a lighter gray for his wing-membrane and for his under belly. His muzzle and long and almost square. He had a set of mean-looking horns that twisted themselves to out of his head and backwards, almost as if they were branches. He was slightly bigger than her, and he was slightly intimidating. However, what most stood out on this dragon were his eyes. They were very dark in color, and not only that, but they were very deep. There was a deepness in them that was so great that, for a moment, Lars was afraid that she would get lost in them, as if they were both an abyss that she could fall inside and never get out again.

If it was not only for these deep eyes, the dragon himself seemed intimidating. He seemed like a fierce dragon with almsot twice her size, who would be able to do pratically anything he wanted to her if he actualy tried, and there was no one near to stop him.

The dragon looked at her for a moment, and he said, "Am I... interrupting something?"

He probably had seen her talking to the shield, and Lars, being so attentive to the shield, had failed to notice him aprpoaching. She probably was really distracted, because it was the only way of not noticing such a big dragon coming closer to her.

"Uh? Oh! Ah... I mean... no, I was... I was just distracted." She said, stammering a bit as she felt nervous for that big dragon being close to her and with no one else around.

The bigger dragon looked at her, and he said, "Yeah, it's okay." And he looked around at the park, and he sighed. "This place is beautiful."

"Yeah, it is." Lars said, still a bit nervous, and soon, the bigger drake said, "Do you want some company?"

Lars would have said no. She would have got away from him in order to be safe. She would even take extreme measures to make herself safe against this strange dragon. However, she didn't felt like it. There was somethign about that dragon that made her far less afraid of him, much less than it would be considered reasonable.

Could it be the gentle tone in his voice? Maybe. Or could it be the look in these deep eyes, that made them not be so much scary at all? Probably. She just knew that somethign had made her simply nod her head in agreement, and soon, the male dragon was resting in the ground, right by her side.

They stood there, side by side, in silence, as the dragon breathed the air of the park, filled with the perfume of all of the flowers that blossomed in there during almost the whole year. He let out a big sigh, and Lars could see a smile in his face.

"The parks of Luminazi are as beautiful as I've heard." He said, and Lars could not say if he had said it to himself or to her. However, by the way he talked, she could not avoid come to the conclusion.

"You are not from here, are you?" She asked him, and then, the dragon looked at her, his deep eyes meeting with her, and he gave her a smile, a very kind one, by the way.

"Yeah, actually, I have just arrived in your beautiful city." He said, with that smile still on his face. "I just had to see this city that is so beautiful." He looked back at the flowers, which were blossoming in the fields, and he said, "My city don't has beautiful gardens like that."

Lars could notice some kind of sadness in his voice, as he looked almost dreamingly at the flowers that blossomed. Lars could not help but look at him, and notice just how beautiful that dragon was. It was a kind of primitive beauty, but it was still beauty.

He was big and her looked to be very strong, and his musculature and his strong features let it clear that he was maybe a warrior, even if she would wonder why a warrior would be in a place like that.

As she looked at him, Lars could feel most of her fear of him slowly dissipating.

Minutes passed, and soon, the two dragons were starting to talk to each other. Lars learned that the name of this young dragon was Shallow. A rather interesting name, and she also noticed that he was almsot her own age. They talked about a few things, like the city, and like the weather, and Shallow asked her about all kinds of thigns about the city, like the most beautiful places around, and maybe some places that he could visit in the future. Lars was more than happy to share this information with him.

As they talked, Lars got to know more about him. She knew now that his father was a warrior, and that he had vanished during a great fight when he was really young, and that he was raised by his mother. At this point, Lars was able to feel a great shympaty for him, and she revealed that she too had lost her father. She explained to him that the shield was all that had been left of him, and that was why it was so important to her. Shallow nodded in acknowledge.

"I heard about your father." He said, what surprised Lars, and he also said, "I'm trully sorry for what happened to him, princess Larsinia."

Now _that_ really caught Lars off guard, as she looked at him, and she said, "How do you..?"

"You are somewhat famous." He said with a smile. "The stories they tell about you make it hard to mistake you by any other dragoness. Besides..." He gestured to her garments. "These things you are using are far too fancy looking to be something that someone who was not roialty would use."

Lars blushed as she knew that he indeed had a very good point. She almsot wished that she had taken them out before coming there. However, on second thoughts, it would probably not work too well, since her own appearence would give her identity away to anyone who had heard about her story. After all, there was not many drgon around who had fur. She even felt silly for thinking that she would be able to walk around without being recognized.

Shallow, however, didn't thougth it to be silly, instead, he laughed a little, and he said. "Yeah, I guess sometimes we all would want to vanish and to remain out of sight." She looked at him as he continued. "Sometimes we just need to take some distance and use a little time to ourselves, ain't I right?"

Lars was able to smile lightly at him. Indeed, he was right. Living as one member of a royal family could be a real challenge at times, with all the compromises and the meetings and several classes and worries to get ready for the day when herself would have to assume all the responsibilites of having to reing over the kingdow. Lars too sometimes felt a bit overwhelmed, and sometiems she really wished that she could dissapear, that she could simply slip away and disspear among the crowd, even if it was just for a few hours, to put her head back in place.

It was somethign that was really true, and by the way that this grey dragon talked, it was like he knew pretty well what he was talking about, almost as if he had already been through it. Lars felt a wave of simpathy for that dragon, and she smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess you are right. I really wished to take a while to myself. I'm getting married today." She was surprised at how easily that came out form her mouth, as if it was not worrying her so much now. It was like that grey dragon was making her less nervous with this whole thing. He had a very strange effect on her with his gentle actings.

The grey dragon smiled back at her, and he said, "Yeah, I know." Yeah, of course he would know, after all, her marriage was the subject of the year. Of course that even someone who was not from the kingdow would know about it, since it was pratically the only thing that everyone in the kingdow was talking about, by one reason or the other. Lars sighed, and she said.

"And as if on clue, my gloom simply dissapeared a few hours before the marriage." She looked ahead as she said it, and after a while, she heard Shallow sigh, and also chuckle a little, right before he said. "Yeah, I guess it is not the best way to start off a marriage."

Lars agreed with him, it surelly was not the best way of starting off a marriage with anyone. She notice some kind of guilty into Shallow's voice, as if he felt responsible for this. She was about to say that she was going to short it out with the prince as soon as she found him, and that Shallow had nothing to do with it. However, before she could, he said something that made her stare at him with wide eyes.

"Well, I guess at least I didn't messed up by the first talk I ever had with my bride." He said, with a smile on his face.

"Wha..." Lars said, staring at him, and only a few seconds later, a voice said. "There you are!"

Lars and Shallow both turned around, and they saw two bulky dragons in armors coming near, and they both directed themselves right to the grey colored dragon. "Prince Shallow! We were worried about you! You can't dissapear like that."

Prince Shallow.

Lars mind took a few moments to register this, and only a few more to actually connect the dots. When she did, she stared at Shallow as if he had grown a second head. The grey dragon only looked at the guards. _His_ guards.

Of course! How she didn't made the connection!?

Shallow, the prince of Halazar, simply rooled his eyes when his guard came closer, saying something about him having to stop to vanish like that, and the grey dragon only said some "yeah"s and "sure"s and other things like that as he simply let the guards say what they had to say.

"Well, at least it seems that you and your bride are already getting along." Said one of the guards, and Shallow was actually able to smile, as he looked back at Lars with these deep, but somewhat warm eyes. Lars could feel her face heating as she looked down.

"Yeah, that is true." She hear Shallow say, and he also said, this time straight to Lars. "Larssinia. It was a good way to meet you." He said, gently bowing his head to her. Lars could feel her face heating even more, and she was alsmot sure that her face now had a vivid blush, due to the clear color of her scales.

"L-L-Lars." She said, stammerign a bit, and Shallow looked at her, and she completed. "C-Call me Lars. My mother calls me Larssinia when we are in an formal meeting or when shye is mad at me. Everyone calls me Lars."

Shallow looked at her for a few moments, and he smiled at her, and he said. "As you wish, Lars." And he smiled, a beautiful smile. For a moemnt, Lars thought that her face was going to melt, such was the way it was heating up with a blush. It was a rather awkward moment, luckly for her, one of the guards cleared his throat, and he said. "Sorry, but I guess thaat you two need to go back and get ready. The marriage is going to happen in three hours, and we still have somethigns to get asserted."

Three hours?

Lars looked at the sky, and saw that, indeeed,d the sun had moved away form the place that it was when she firsgt arrived into the park. She had passed so much time talking with Shallow? She barelly even noticed time wenting by!

Shallow also noticed it, and he says "Wow, time really does fly by when we are having fun, doesn't it?" He said, winking at Lars, making her blush again, and this made both guarss share a worried look at the way that their rpince had said it. However, they didn't had time to worry about it, they had to go back and to start all the preparations for the great event. Soon, Lars, Shallow,a nd the two guards were all flying together back to the place where they were going to meet with the others, and they would all start the last touchs to the great event that would define everyone's future.

Well, this was surelly different from how Lars had imagined she would met her gloom for the first time. Still, it was way better than what she could have expected.

* * *

Laziria also was not very happy for the conditions in which har daughter first got to met her future husband. It was supposed to happen into a formal meeting, with the ritualistic meeting and what came afterwards. Instead, they both had met into very unformal circunstances, and which were rather suspect, by what the guards had told her. The fact that they were both alone and away from anyone else's sight and hearing shot was even more reason for her to worry.

However, it was only Lars say to her that nothing serious had happened that she calmed down. Though Laziria was protective over her daugther, and didn't trusted the prince very much, specially with all the story about his "adventures" with other dragonesses, she deeply tursted her daughter, enough to know that she ws serious when she said that nothing had happened. She raised her daughter well, adn so did her husband. She was a serious young lady who knew how to care for herself and who would not allow thgins like that to happen to her. They had raised no fool.

Still, the circunstances were not the better, for the prince had already showed some uncring for traditions as he slipped away like that, and it was still not very good for him to meet her in a park all alone, so the queen was not very pleased. Still, Lars wasn't as upset with the sittuation as her mother was.

Matter of fact, Lars could not help but think back to the prince and about all that she had learned about him in these hours that they had spent in their talk. She learned that he too was raised by his mother, after his father went missing in the last great battle that happened in their lands, and that he had searched for him endlessly, and he was still searching, hoping to find at least a small clue of what had happened to him. She also learned that he had some interesting tastes, like enjoying the sight and smell of the flowers, and also skipping once in a while to take a stroll away from all the royalty stuff and take a time to himself.

By her talk with him, she learned that he was not so much of a soiled brat as the rumors had said, actually, he seemed to be somehwat mature. She also learned that he was confident and strong, and that he had a rather morbid sense of humor, but he was still funny, and he was still able to bound with people into a more emotional level.

She was also glad to see that he was rather beautiful. She had heard some rumors of him having scars over his face and body, once as the heir, he also had the duty of companing his armies into each battle that they fought, no matter how small it actually was, and also, there were seemingly several attempts against his life, as it seemed to be something normal around his kingdow. Some said that he was deformed at birth or that he was some other way hideous, and that he was not a pleasant sight, and that other dragonesses only stayed around him for fear and for interest. All of that were quickly dismissed by the looks of the prince, which were all rather good.

She was also happy for seeing that he was not violent or cruel, as some darker rumors told. Well, at least that was the impression that she had from him in that quick meeting, for she saw that he seemed to be patient and that he seemed to really care for other people, not being violent or selfish as they had depicted him into some stories. She knew that it was only their first meeting, of course, and that it would be soon to make some evaluation of him as person only by that, still, she had a very good first impression of him.

What more called her attention were his eyes, though. She still remembered these deep and powerful orbs. They were somehow conflicting with themselves, as they were deep and made her thinking about a bottomless pity. Still, they were like they were full of some kind of warm. It was the strangest of all. They felt empty, and yet they were somehow welcoming. Lars never thought that it could be possible to a dragon to have this kind of duality, even less being able to express it into a single look of his eyes. Still, Shallow, her future husband, was able to do exactly that. It only gave her the impression that he was a person with a deep personality, that there was much more to him than the eye met, and that she was still going to learn a lot more about him by living by his side.

Suddenly, the perspective of living side by side with him didn't seemed so bad at all. That meeting with him was alsmot as if an answer to her doubts, for it made her known enough about him so that the perspective of a marriage was not as scary, as he seemed, at least at first glance, not the kind of man who wuld be a bad husband. Most of her apprehension had vanished, and she felt a lot more confident. Still, she was still nervous with the whole thign of the marriage, specially with the prospect of looking in these deep eyes again, which only remembering made her cheeks flush slightly.

Still, the feeling of dread that she previously had with the marriage and all had anything but dissapeared.

Soon she was called by her mother, there were only one hour until the ceremony was to start, and they had to train one last time all of the lines that she was supposed to say.

After a while of practice, she felt a little more confident, but that shade of nervousness was probably still going to be in there until the end of the ceremony. When she realized it, it was already the time.

Soon, Lars ws being scourted to the doors of the temple by her personal guards, her mother walking with her along the way, and as soon as they were in there, Lars gave one last look at the doors. She felt her heart pounding hard in her chest, and she felt like turning around and flying away, to some place where no one would find her. However, she knew that she couldn't. Not now. Not after having came this far. Now when her whole people were counting on her and on that marriage.

Sighing, she turned to her mother, and handed her her father's shield, which had been on her back all that time, offering it for her to keep to her until the marriage was over. However, to her surprise, Laziria smiled and pushed the shield back at her hands gently. "Your father would want to be here for a moment like that." She said very gently, looking at her daughter lovingly in the eyes. "He will go with you to the altar and be with you all along the way."

Lars was deeply touched by this, and she got herself fighting back her tears. She embraced her mother, and soon, after that moment had passed, she was getting ready, placing the shield in her back, right in between her wings. He father was going to be there, watching her back, like he always said that he would do. She was not scared.

The doors opened, and Lars soon saw herself walking in direction to the center of the temple, where a altar stood. As she walked, she passed by many faces, of drgons, cheetahs, moles, lions and other creatures that made out the people of her kingdow, the people who she could not dissapoint now. All of the looked at her as she walked straight, some with admiration, some with evny, some with pride, some looked at her with pity, as if she was facing some short of punishment, and some with a strange sense of admiration, as if she was doing a great sacrifice for the shake of her people. They all had already heard a thing or two about her supposed gloom, and they all were just hoping that she was not going to suffer due to that marriage.

However, Lars was not in the moment of sharing of their worries, this was far too important. She only looked ahead, as she approached the center of the altar, with two dragons in there. One of them was Shallow, whom she already knew, and who was looking back at her as she approached. The dragon now was dfressing accordingly to the sittuation, unsing copper bracers in his forepaws, and one copper ring into each one of his horns. Around his neck there was a single neck-bracer, which was decorated with one single big ruby. Also, he wasw wearing what seemed to be a set of armor, which covered his forelegs, his chest, and also the backwards of his body. In his forepaw, he was holding a helmet, which was supposedly the last part of his armor. She noticed that, aside of the big ruby, what he was wearing had absolutelly no garments. She considered that it made sense, since his kingdow was a belic one, and so, they valued the armors and their funtionality in battle more than the beauty. He looked as if he was ready to go to war, but it was probably a tradition among his people to use armors like that during marriage. Lars could only guess.

Next to him there was another draogn, this one much older, and he was wearing some garments which were much more decorated, including cloths of purple color that ran down his shoulders and across his forepaws. He was a priest of Draconia, the responsible for that temple, and the one who was going to make their official uniono in frotn of the eyes of the Great Mother, forever uniting their two souls across the veil of time and destiny.

Walking forward, looking up as she climbed the few steps that made the altar in which they toh would make their vows, she looked at Shallow, who somehow looked far more majestic now that he had his armor and his roayl garments, who looked back at her with his deep eyes, and he smiled warmly at her. He said nothing, though, for he knew that words would not make justice to that moment, and Lars was glad for it, for she thought she would have trouble to say anything that weren't her vows. She was really nervous now.

So, as both dragons were into the altar, each one in frotn of the other, the priest finally got ready to start the ceremony.

"My friends!" The old dragon said aloud, his voice carryign surprisingly power for someone his age. "My brothers and sisters! We are here today, united into this temple, and under the all-seeing eyes of the great Draconia, to unite these two young souls as one!"

Lars looked at Shallow, who looked more serious now, though not too much, since he was able to smile at her. She blushed as she prayed that no one would notice that she was so nervous at a moemnt like that. The priest continued.

"Under her eyes, inside her house, we ask Draconia to watch over the union of these two young dragons, who now, are about to join their souls as one, to walk along forever into the world that we live in, and even farther, across the time! We ask her to bless this union, for they had found the perfect love into each other, and for her to guide them along the road that now, they will walk in together!"

The temple remained silence, as the priest turned to the young dragon, and he said. "The groom might speak his vows."

Shallow looked at her in the eyes, and reached out with his paws forward, taking her own paw into it and, in that moment, Lars fetl a wave of eletricity pass by her leg and through all of her body, and she could swear that her heart had just gave a double mortal flip.

At the next moment, Shallow was speaking, with his strong voice, as he looked Lars on the eyes. "I, Shallow Abyss, Prince of Halazar, take you, Larssinia Lion, as my wife and mate for life. I promise to respect you, to protect you, to be loyal and to remain forever by your side, in good and bad times. I promise to care for you, and to give you my love, my heart and soul, everyday, from now on till the end of times. Today now, with the all mighty Draconia as witness, I accept you as my wife."

Lars looked long and hard at his eyes, and for a moment, she seemed to have forgotten what to say, but soon, she was able to recover hr voice, and to remember exactly the words she was supposed to say now.

"I, Larssinia Lion, take you, Shallow Abyss, as my husband and mate for life. I promise to respect you, to protect you, to be loyal and to remain forever by your side, in good and bad times. I promise to care for you, and to give you my love, my heart and soul, everyday, from now on till the very end of times. Today now, with the all mighty Draconia as witness, I accept you as my husband."

These words left her mouth with much more facility than she expected, as if she really believed in them, and... didn't she? She could see a lot of sincerity into Shallows eyes as he had said these words, so, it made sense that there was some sincerity into them as _she_ spoke them, right?

With the vows said, the priest continued. "Now, as these two souls had vowed loyalty and love to each other, we invite them to drink." He said, raising a rather big cup of wine. Lars and Shallow both let go of each other hands for the time being, and they both helt the cup. Shallow was the first to take a few gulps, as the priest spoke. "Through the sharing of this wine, blessed by Draconia, the two dragons in here today share now the same fate and destiny, and they shall forever be connected to each other."

As he spoke, Shallow let go, and it was Lars turn. Usually she was not fan of driking, but this was a very special occasion. She took a few gulps of the surprisingly sweet wine down her throat, the feeling of the alcohol slightly burning her mouth, but she was able to hide it well. Luckly the wine was not very strong. The preist continued. "From today on, they will walk togehter along the same path that Draconia, all knowing has made for them, and they will forever have their very souls entwirned into the veil of life. This union is holy, and as so, it will never be taken flightly or unimportant. From now on, with the union of these souls, and under the eyes of Draconia, I now declare you both wife and husband, and mates for life. You may kiss the bride."

In that moment, after the cup was empty, and set into the ground, Lars looked deeply into Shallows deep eyes, and she thought that it was a abyss once again, fitting his family name. Shallow was able to smile at her, and he leaned forward, as Lars too leaned forward, closing her eyes, and their lips connected into a kiss.

For a moment, Lars felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest as she felt like an eletric current had passed over her whole body twice. She barelly even heard the roar of applause that came from the crowd that were there, celebrating the union of the two families and of their kingdows, and the solution to all of their problems. She felt like she was fluttering slightly from the ground, and like she was redy to float away without even moving her wings. That few seconds, that to her felt like an eternity, soon came to an end as the kiss was broken, and she looked at Shallow's eyes again, and by the look on his face, he was feeling somethign around what she felt.

She was so distracted looking into his eyes, that she felt like nothing could make her ever snap out of it.

She just didn't knew how she was wrong...

The sound of a slam filled the temple, as the crowd as one gave a jump, turning surprised to the entrance of the temple, from which walked a dragon in armor, wearing the timber of Luminazi's roayl family. He was a dragon of the guard, and he was a mess.

He was covered in blood, and he seemed that he was about to drop dead by the way he was wheezing, and coughing blood. He gave a lot of steps, as if he was using all of the strenght that he had left in his body for that, and he was able to choke out aloud. "We are being attacked!" His voice booming over the whole temple "The kingdow is under attack..." He said, and he wheezed one last time, before dropping to the ground, not moving and, to everyone's horror, seeming that he wasn't even breathing.

The crowd as one went into a uproar, as everyone looked at each other as they all absorbed what had just happened, and the severity of the last words of the guard sank into them. Soon, eveyrone was filled with panic, and they all were rushing to the nearest exit, aiming to head to a safe place as soon as possible.

Lars was stunned to what had just happened, and she didn't knew what to do. Her mind was not yet processing that the kingdow was being attacked, she was still trying to understand what it was all about. It qas like her brain was refusing to process this information and take it as true, so it was searching for another answer, any other answer which was not that one.

She was so focused in it that she barelly notice Shallow calling her name, until she felt his paw grasing her own. Only then she finally looked at him, as if she had snapped out of a daze, and she saw his worried face. "Lars, we have to go!" He said, urgency clear in his voice.

"My mother..." Lars said, as she was finally come to sense with what was happening around her. Shallow looked around, and he said, "There she is!" He pointed out, and soon, they both were heading in the direction of Laziria, who was as dishoriented as Lars herself was.

She was quickly pulled out of it by Lars and Shallow, both telling her that they should head to a safer place, to which Laziria agreed. Luckly, there were members of both their guards in there to make their security. The memebrs of the queen's gaurd were a little shaken, though, for they really didn't expected somethign like that to happen. Actually, they had never trully been into the head on of a battle, so, they were shaken by the sight of their comrade laying dead in the ground, covered in blood.

Shallow's guards, however, had alredy been in lots of wars and battles already, and they had faced an exausting train in their years in the army and a rigorous selection before they were accepted as the prince's guard. They were used to the sight of blood, and had already seen much owrse thigns than a simple corpse. They were showing to be amazingly calm in the sittuation, as if they had been trained to this kind of surprise attack, and indeed, they were.

As soon as they were out, they heard the sound of people walking across the streets, of all species, all of them searchignfor a safer place. Not only that, but they also heard the sounds of war. It was distant, but it was clear, for the clash, the roars, and even explosions as the battle raged on.

"Look!" One of Shallow's guards pointed out, and everyone looked to several collums of smoke raising from the ground and into the sky, signalling the direction from which the attack seemed to be coming from. It was close to the mines. There were explosions coming form that area, and it was more than enough reason to worry.

However, what was really troubling was the clear fact that the sounds of battle seemed to be coming nearer. Anyone could deduce by it that it could only mean that, however, was attacking, was quickly gaining terrain, and was advancing into the city. They were winning.

Lars felt her body trembling as her heart sunk deep. This was all her worst fears, all coming to life right in frotn of her eyes. The kingodw was beign attacked, and they were losing it. They barelly even had time to prepare or to have any true chance of fighting, they were simply being attacked.

She was lost until Shallow pulled her leg. "We have to search for a safe place." He said, making both Lars and Laziria look at him.

"The castle!" Lars said, thinking that her home would be a safe place, and her mother agreed with her. However, Lars was surprised when she said. "I'll go back to the castle, you have to go with Shallow! Go the Halazar!"

"But, mom!" She said, but her mother cut her out. "They are taking the city, and if they are able too, they will probably surround the castle, and we would be trapped in there, even if we were safe! You have to go with him!"

"B-but..."

"You are the princess, and if you are captured along with me then all hope will be lost!" She said, to her daughter. "You have to head to Halazar, after all, now you are a princess in there too! You will be safe with them, and you will be able to come up with a plan if things go to worse!"

Lars could not discuss with this, it was the most logical solution, however, she could not leave her mother. Laziria, as if sensing her fear, said to her. "I'll be okay, I promise. Even if they surround the castle they will never get inside. Now go. Go!"

Lars looked at her mother, tears perking from her eyes, and Shallow said, "Lars, we have to go, now!"

He was right, there was no time for it now, they had to get out of there, before it was too late. Shallow ordered half of his guard to go with queen Laziria, as to support her own guard. The soldiers were hesitant on this, but Shallow convinced them by saying that now, as he and Lars were married, queen Laqziria was as much member of their royal family. Howeve,r what seemed to definitelly make them agree with him was a very hard look of his deep eyes as he said: "This is an order!"

The guards were flying with Laziria back to the castle, while Lars and Shallow both turned around and, companied by what was left of his guard, which were some very strong and intimidating dragons, started to go their own way.

Lars reached out with her claw, to her father's shield that was still on her back, and she prayed that her mother was right. That she was going to make it safelly to the castle nad that she was going to be safe in there. She just hoped that anyone was going to listen.

Around them, in their way, they could see the war was starting to get where they were, as they saw some soldiers of unknown kingdow advancing back and forth into the streets, proba bly their scouts, as they were breaking the place and creating havoc, and fighting the soldiers of Luminazi that tried to stand. However, these soldiers were quickly overpowered, as the attacking army was showing to have a greater ability to fight. The gaurds barelly were able to give a couple blows beofre they were attacked with claws, teeth, daggers, lances and other weapons, soon after falling to the ground into puddles of their own blood.

Lars whined as she looked at the ground, fighting back the tears that threatened to flow from her eyes. How could it happen? How it all happened in so little time? How could something so horrible come true?

She was barelly paying attention to her surroundings, until she heard Shallow say "Look out!" As he put a wing in front of her way, making her stop, and she stopped just in time, for in that same monet, a group of dragons in these armors landed into the ground in front of them, and they looked ferocious, snapping their jaws at them like wild animals.

The guards of Shallow stepped forward, and they all growled before pouncing into each other. The attacking dragons showed that they knew how to fight. However, it was Halazar's guard they were talking about, and they had a skill with fighting and war that was almost legendary.

Shallow's guard was quickly overpowering and winning the fight with the attakcing dragons, despite their numeric inferiority. However, a few other dragons were able to sneak from the fight, and they now were advancing against Lars and Shallow.

The white dragoness backed away in fear, while the grey dragon stood between her and the attackers, growling menancingly. However, the enemy didnm't showed fear. Actually, all of them showed nothing more than a look of pure hatred in their faces, and their eyes...

If Shallow's eyes were a bottomless pity, the eyes of these dragons were nothing more then the supreme abyss, completelly black and devoid of any kind of emotion that was not the pure and absolute hate. She felt a feeling of dread and hopelessness as she looked in these eyes, as well as a horrible feeling that they didn't had any plans of capturing them alive.

Shallow, however, didn't seemed willing to let it hapen, for he was in the way, and he was ready to fight. He had put his helmet back on his head, and he looked at the dragons in frotn of him, as if he was challenging them to try to come closer. A challenge that they seemed to have accepted.

One of them roared as he jumped straight into Shallow, his teeth bared and claws outstretched to fight, and Shallow was fast o react. He quickly planted his forelegs in the ground and spun his own body, hitting the dragon in the face with his hindlegs. His helmet was crunched by the sheer force of the impact, and he was proppeled backwards, as Shallow completed a 360º turn and was back on his original position.

That was the moment that the others attacked, all of them jumping ahead and attacking with teeth, claws and even some blades. However, Shallow soon shoed why Halazar was known as the Empire of Armies, for even him, their prince, was a very skilled soldier and fighter. He was quickly able to keep up with the tugs that thought that they could attack him, and he was able to remain unscratched, save for one of them, who was able to cut his leg with a dagger.

Lars looked at the amazing show that were Shallow's fighting abilite,s but she was distracted by a menancing growl thjat came from near her, and her eyes widened in horror as she saw another one of them, this one having his eyes turned to her.

"You..." He breathed, into a deep and scary voice, as he approached her.

"S-stay away!" Lars said as she gave a step back, and she stumbled back as the evil dragon approached her, giving no ears to her warning. She was desperated. No. That couold not be it. That could not be how thigns were going to end.

In the moment the dragon lunged at her, she felt her mind going blank, as a memory came to her. The memory of her father. Thememory of all the good times that she had with him, and how he always told her that she should never let the _light_ in her heart ever go out.

Breathing, she opened her mouth in a reflex and, as if on cue, a pillar of pure light erupted from her mouth, and it hit the dragon square, proopeling him backwards, and making him crash into a nearby house, crunghing the wall.

It took a moemnt for Lars to realize what she had done, and when she did, she felt pure despair sparking in her heart, as she should never let anyone discover it, not even her own mother!

"Lars?" a voice asked, and she turned around to see Shallow looking at her, looking shocked. The guards around him laid, seemingly dead, as he stared at her, and she had no idea of what to do or say.

Suddenly, there were explosions. They both looked up to see balls of fire flying through the air, coming from catapults, no doubt, and hitting the buildings and making them all break and fall tot eh streets. One of the said buildings was one that was just above Lars.

It broke, and several big pieces of itself started to feel in Lars direction, who looked up in horror. She would have no time to jump out of the way, she was going to be crushed!

However, it didn't happened, for in that same moment, Shallow opened his mouth, adn something came out of it. It was a ball of pure blackness, and it flew from his mouth and stood right above Lars.

In the moment that the debris came closer, the ball itself produced a inwards gust of wind, as if it was sucking what was around, a gust that Lars was able to feel. She only felt the gust, but the debris above her, as if feeling it with much more forced, were sucked into the ball, which was of the size of her cletched fist, and they broke into itselves as they were sucked inside.

The ball stopped when they were completelly sucked, and them, it dissapred into nothingness.

Lars stood there for a few moments, and she looked back at Shallow, who was staring back at her, pantign slightly. For a long moment, they both didn't seemed what to do or what to say, and then, when it seemed that Shallow was about to say something, he started to falter, as if he was dizzy suddenly. He groaned, as he was about to fall, and Lars, having finally snapped out of it, ran to him.

"Shallow!" She said, helping him support, as he was starting to cold-sweat. She looekd at him, he seemed okay. These guys had not hit him a single time, he ahd not wounds save fore the one of the dagger...

Then she looked at that wound. It was greenish around it. The truth struck her hard when she saw it.

"Poison." Shallow said, looking at his own wound, as he leaned in, starting to have his strenght fading. Lars helped him lay down, resting his head in her leg, and she looked at him. He looked at her, and he was able to smile. "That was... surelly not I... Imagined how would be... my marriage."

He didn't had time. Whatever poison it was, was of an amazingly fast action. He was coughing and he was quickly palling, as the venom was draining away his power, and soon, it would start to drain away his life. Lars looked worrified at this.

This could not happen. Not now. She kenw that she brelly even knew him by now, but, he was her husband, and she already had a connnection with him. She could not explain it, but she felt like she knew him for a long time. She could not let him die.

Leaning over, she breathed over his face,a glow coming form her mouth, and she kissed him, letting it flow out inside his mouth. All that Shallow felt was a warm invading him as the light poured out of her an into him, spreading and warming his body, giving back his strenght, cleasing him from the infection.

After a few seconds, she finally pulled out, and Shallow gave a sharp gasp, as he got up quickly. He felt better, and it seemed that the poison was gone. He looked at her for a few moments, but before any of them could say anything, they heard someone.

"My prince!" They looked, to see one of the guards running at them, others following him from behind. For a moment, they panicked, wondering if the guards had saw anything. But they relaxed whyen the gaurds simply asked if they were okay, indicating that they had seen nothing.

"We are fine." Said Shallow, and the gaurd quickly said, "We have to fget out of here, now!"

Shallow looked at Lrs, and she nodded, and ocne he had helped her to get back on her feet, they were both being guided by the guards, and ocne they are at a safe location, they all flapped their wings and took flight, leaving the city behind them.


	16. Clayf, The Lost Prince of Earth

The day shone down in the capital, as the people went on with their lives and they passed their time by going to and fro, minding their own affairs as the people were busy doing all kinds of things.

They were working, shopping, flying around form one place to another, taking care of each other, like the mothers did for their children, and even doing all kinds of labors, like helping in construction and transporting materials for other people.

They all were busy, however, they were not too busy to talk to each other about the last news, coming from all parts of the realms.

People talked about a lot of things that were happening around the lands, in the nearest kingdoms and in the distant ones, in all around of the Dragon Realm.

They talked about the destruction of the Island-City in the middle of the sea, and the death of all of its inhabitants. People said that the island seemed to have suddenly suffered from a volcanic eruption, and it was completely destroyed. There were found no traits of survivors, as well as no remains of the inhabitants, save for the occasional floating piece of body or some bones in the sea.

Though everyone said that the event was a volcanic eruption, people were still unsure about it. The event itself was somewhat unclear, as the searching parties sent there to search for survivors said. The place seemed to have been burned and destroyed, but the island itself seemed to have somewhat exploded, what was supported by the people of near ships that could see the flash of white light and even heard the sound of the explosion that had come. Some people even said that it seemed that they had saw what seemed to be a pillar of light coming from the skies. However, of course that anyone who was smart and reasonable would deduce that it was just the delirious of drunk sailors.

Even if there was no signs of lava or of volcanic activity in there, of course that it was a volcanic event. Sure, what else could explain a whole island being seemingly exploded from a moment to other and leaving no traits of their population? There was no other logic explanation for that! What else could have caused it? Nothing in the planet would have so much power for that! It would be impossible!

People were talking a lot about it, like the great repercussions that it would have into the realms. The kingdom island was known for giving away a good part of the fish and sea-food storage of the dragon lands, including Grahar. Actually, that land had collaboration with the feeding of the lands in great deal, as well as they offered them their best of their sea rotes of commerce, and all of the art that they gave also collaborated to the kingdom development.

This new was big thing, as well as the news that the kingdom of Luminazi, which offered the kingdom their deal of precious stones. The kingdom had been attacked, and it had been, for what the news said, completely taken by the invaders, who come from out of the Dragon Realms. The kingdom had been almost destroyed, and the citizens, as well as the queen herself, had been taken hostages by the invaders. The queen, by what was said, was held into her own castle, now stuck in there as the enemies tried to get to her but were unable to get past the defenses of the castle. She was made a prisoner in her own home. Her daughter, who had just married in the day of the attack, had escaped with her husband to the neighbor kingdom, and now she was harbored in there, planning their next move.

This were also great news, due to the fact the Luminazi was a important piece in the economy of the kingdom, once their jewels gave good part of the income of fortune to the dragon lands, for they were also traded with the close realms, and it served as their trade. It was bad because, even since the day of the attack, the invaders of the kingdom, had not show any interest in trading or selling the gems of the mines with anyone else. They were most likely keeping it for themselves, and to trade with the neighbor lands by themselves. That, of course, was a big hit and a blown in the economy of the dragon lands, what only seemed to fuel and further their inside problems.

The loss of two cities which were so important to them, it was surely the prelude of a crisis that the dragon realms were going to face soon, if things kept getting worse the way they were, it would only meant problem to everyone. People were actually already worried about the raise in the prices of all of the stuff, and the smarter ones were already making their own provisions, to avoid the high values.

People were deeply worried about the fates of these two important lands, which was going to affect the whole realms once the problems hit with full force. Some people, the most ignorant, or the most distant from the society and the actual problems, were discussing madly about some unimportant things like, the attack and destruction of a temple of Draconia in the city of Cloudgate Citadel, and the eventual deaths of the people who lived in there. Or maybe that story that was running around about the daughter of a famous artist in Dohoranter, who was kidnapped and taken to out of the town by a blacksmith's son. Or did she run away with him, who happened to be her lover? Oh, who cared? I mean, come on, how could things like that be so important when the realms were in risk of entering into one of the biggest crisis of their story due to the tragedy that had befell over such important cities of theirs.

They knew that it could mean trouble for the whole realms, and a great problem that everyone would face, both noble and commoners, for it had already happened the last time that they had lost a very important city, only a few years ago, and they had still not fully recovered from it. Many people were actually still trying to recover and rise again after these years, for the loss of _that_ city had been a hard blown for the whole realms, both in the economy as in the quality of the life.

Everyone knew that the lose of that cities was going to be a bad thing, especially when they were still trying to recover from the first loss. This could potentially be a disaster, and that was the source of worry to everyone.

And _really_ everyone. The nobles were worried that it could affect their fortune, and the commoners were worried that the crisis in the economy could affect their jobs and their future. Some could lose their jobs or have their paychecks greatly reduced, and that would make it more difficult for them to have the things bought, like food and other supplies, especially if the prices of the things were raised, what was very likely to happen during an economic crisis. People were just seeing how this was going to affect their everyday lives and the difficulties that they were going to pass by this.

Even the poorest people were worried. People in the Sliced Neck Street, for instance, were actually very worried about all of the crisis and about the things of the prices rocketing to the sky. They were already poor, so if the prices went up they would most likely start to starve due to them simply not having money to buy food. Some of them were really worried about that, while others, the ones who survived from the streets or who gained life through the "less honorable" ways, simply shrugged and they imagined that thigns were not going to change that much. After all, they never were the kind that gained money in honest ways, so they weren't as worried as the others about the crisis and about what it brought, they were simply going to face it as another event in their lives and they were simply going to have to do what they did during all of their lives: they were going to deal with it in their own way.

Some people, like the Quick Shadows, were actually more realistic about all of that.

"That would be terrible. Things in here are already hard, if the prices start going up because of the crisis things are going to get even more complicated." Said a dragoness as she was reunited with other members of the Quick Shadows, among them, Apollonir.

The red dragon was as worried as the rest of his fellows, for they knew that the crisis could entail a lot of trouble to the future of Sliced Neck, once it would drive people to despair as they would be willing to do most anything to have enough money for food and other necessities, and some of them could actually turn to desperate measures in order to reach it. That of course, would lead to a raise in crime and in violence in there, once people would fight each other for money, and also, it could mean a raise in the volume of gangs, once the desperate young could want to have money and resources to ensure the protection of themselves and their families, and the leaders and backers of the gangs would use it to persuade and seduce the young ones to enter in their gangs in order to have protection and other things.

All of that was a great source of worry to the Quick Shadows, people who had vowed to help the Sliced Neck community and to protect them against all the dangers and grant that it would become a better place to live. Something like that, compromising the future of their young and the safety of everyone who lived in there, for them it was a big threat to all of their community and all that they represented.

That was why they were making this meeting, to try to discuss new ideas to avoid trouble and to deal with the consequences of the whole ordeal, and they would need a plan to contro9l the violence and the gangs. It was their responsibility to defend their home, after all.

Everybody presented their worries and offered their own options of solutions, which varied from violent to silly, but each and all of them were heard and all of them ended up noted so they could be better evaluated in the next day. So, everyone was going back to their houses.

Apollonir was now walking back to his home, or the place that he called home. It was only an old house that was about to fall down to the ground from the rotten wood that were the walls and the ceiling, still, it was standing, and it was the best that Apollonir could have.

The red dragon was very worried about that crisis that was approaching and was about to befall over everyone. It was a serious problem, still, Apollonir could not avoid feel some relief that he was even able to worry about it at all.

It had been three weeks since the day that he used his fire abilities to scare that jerk off, and he had been dead worried that the dragon would spread the news to everyone and that soon Apollonir would be searched for everyone because of his "witchcraft" and that he was going to be hunted down and arrested for being a danger to the society.

However, as the days passed one by one, and turned into weeks, the worries that Apollonir had were vanishing slowly, as it seemed that no one was coming for him. Maybe they had simply assumed that the dragon was making things up, and were not taking him seriously.

Honestly, the red dragon wasn't even sure on why he had been so worried in the first place. Like they were going to believe that guy. He was a guy known all around for messing with other people and for getting scared when he was facing someone who was stronger than he was, and he also was known for making up stories to justify why another person was able to defeat him. Also, he was a guy who only created problem wherever he go, and he was a member of a gang which most people despised. If even the people of the Sliced Neck didn't listened to him, why the Guard or anyone in the outside would take him seriously?

In the end, Apollonir seemed to have worried so much over nothing.

The red dragon did not relaxed completely, still.

If there was one thing that the life in the Sliced Neck had taught him, was that he should never relax too much, for the trouble don't wait for you to be ready for it when it comes. Right o the opposite, it waited for you to relax and drop your guard so it can jump unto you and take you completely off guard, so you don't have time to react as you are pushed to the ground.

That was a lesson that Apollonir had to learn very young, and that was how he was able to survive so long in a place like the Sliced Neck, in which life was as unmerciful as it could be in the more far and savage of the jungles, with creatures struggling to survive the best way they could.

Now, that would make people think that the Sliced Neck was horrible, but it was not entirely truth, and Apollonir knew that. He knew that there were people who lived in there, good people, and who only wanted to gain their lives honestly and build a better future for themselves and their children.

That was why the Quick Shadows were so dedicated into protecting the place, for they knew that the Sliced Neck had a reputation, and that it was thank to some individuals that lived in that place, and who were as bad as the rumors in the rest of the town said. However, most of people in there were not like that, and they only tried their best to have a living without getting in trouble, but it was not always possible.

The Quick Shadows were dedicated to solve the problems inside of the Sliced Neck, mainly the troubles with the gangs and people destroying the place, and they also helped people to gain their lives and to have chances of a better future, by offering them food and even helping the kids to study so they could have a better living. Of course, they did so usually by robbing from the richest parts, but they knew full well that sometimes it was needed to do something bad first if you wanted to do something far better. Besides, they all needed it much more than the rich people from the other districts, where they realized most of their works, and so, they only felt like they were "helping" them to generously donate to the people in that poor community so their lives could get better.

Apollonir was dedicated to that cause, and he was willing to give nearly anything for it, and the incoming crisis, which would affect the lives of so many who lived in the Sliced Neck, was a true source of worry to them. They needed to plan ahead and be ready if things would get out of hand, and Apollonir knew that well. That was why he now didn't even had time to worry about if someone else was knowing of his secret. It worried him, of course, he would have to be stupid to don't be worried about something knowing something like that about him, still, he had to put this worry aside and have his priorities. The future and well-being of the ones who lived in the community of the Sliced Neck come before and above any other form of worry.

Apollonir knew it, and he knew that his own problems could wait. Still, he was smart enough to know that he should be even more careful now, and that he should _not_ use it again. Otherwise, things could get really complicated next time, and so, he would really have reason to worry about himself.

Apollonir sighed as he walked inside his home, and he passed by the door, which was pending to one side and made a loud screeching sound as he opened it, and again as he closed it behind himself. That door was old and decayed, it could be burst out of the ridges if someone pushed it hard enough form the other side. It actually offered no protection to the house. The only reason why no one broke into the house yet to do anything was because the house itself denoted that the ones who lived in there were poor, and that there was probably nothing in there which would be worth of the effort of entering in it. Also, there was the fact that the symbol of the Quick Shadows was printed over the house. It was a symbol which meant that _that_ specific house was under the protection of the Quick Shadows, be it be the whole group or by a single one of the members.

If the respect that came due to the actions from the Quick Shadows were not enough to convince someone, them it there was also the fact that the Quick Shadows were loved by the population of the Sliced Neck, and that doing the bad to them would get you to quickly get unpopular in that block, and being unpopular was a bad thing in a place like that. Also, there was the fact that the Quick Shadows were united, if you hit one of their members, the whole group would come for you.

That symbol in Apollonir's house was worth more than 30 feet high walls of steel and a big door of metal locked by the best locks in the city of Grahar.

"I'm home." Apollonir called, as he entered into his house, and he soon heard someone answering, "You came back earlier."

Apollonir smiled as he heard that voice, for it meant that he was okay, what meant that no one had tried to break into the house when he had left, not that they would try, anyway, but you never know, right?

"We discussed a lot of things while we were there, mainly about this crisis that is coming." Apollonir called as he left his bag and his cloak into the nearest table, not bothering much to leave it clear, after all, in that place, it was somewhat rare to receive visits, even from your neighbors.

"It is making everyone worried, they say that it will be the worse thing to happen since eight years ago. Since…" Apollonir was about to say something else, but he stopped, for he knew that the next words could make things go bad in there. "Well… you know…"

It was more than enough, and Apollonir knew that, he soon saw another dragon, about his own age, maybe a little younger, walking from inside the house and looking at him. This dragon had dark-green scales and a brown colored underbelly, and he had crooned horns in his head, which were almost brown in color, and they almost resembled branches, if you had enough imagination. His tail, while lacking a proper tailblade, so to say, was instead crowned with a set of spikes which were also brown in color, and almost seemed to be thorns. His eyes were hazelnut colored, and they both looked at Apollonir as the red dragon could see a form of sadness deep into them, something that he had learned to see in the years that he had lived with the green dragon.

The green one looked at Apollonir, and he said, "Yeah, it seems that we will have a lot of trouble due to this." His voice was conformed, but Apollonir could sense the sadness coming from it. Immediately, the red dragon had regretted to having mentioned what happened eight years ago.

"Clayf..." Apollonir said, calling the green dragon by his name, but the dragon, as if pretending not to have heard him, only turned around and said, "We have dinner ready, lets eat, shall we?"

He simply walked away without saying anything. Apollonir looked at the green dragon that walked away from him, and he sighed after a few moments, walking behind him. Apollonir should have stopped talking when he mentioned the crisis. He knew that it was hard for Clayf talking about what happened eight years ago, and that it was painful to him. Apollonir felt sorry for the dragon that he had known so long ago and who had come to be his friend.

You know, it was even funny, for in his years growing up in the Sliced Neck street, a place that "correct citizens" tended to avoid at any cost, Apollonir had never imagined that he would end up being friends with a prince.

* * *

 _Years ago…_

 _The kingdom of Geogaia was one of the most beautiful and the most important parts of the Dragon Realms. The place was known for its amazingly fertile soil that could grow virtually anything, from trees and corns to apples and melons. Not only had they the most beautiful gardens from all the realms, decorated by the most beautiful and colorful trees and flowers in blossom that someone could ever see, but they also were responsible for the biggest crops from the realm._

 _Their great and fertile lands were perfect for the biggest harvests that the Dragon Realms had ever seen and, according to some, the biggest of the whole world. They produced a big amount of food for everyone in there, and they also supplied food to almost the whole continent, and they were a great source of pride to the lands that belong to the dragons._

 _They were ruled by a royal family, as it was usual among the dragon lands, and this one was formed by dragons who happened to be the straight descendents of the dragons who first started that kingdom by shedding the first seeds to be grown in there. They were the rightful heirs of these lands and they carried the weight of the whole kingdom in their shoulders, and so, they ruled rightfully and humbly as they went on with their mission._

 _Well, that was what most people expected, anyway. However, everybody knows that the reality isn't always what we think it is, or the way it should be in theory. The family was great, actually, and they were fair rulers, and they didn't misused their authority. The king and queen were both loved and respected among the kingdom._

 _The only problem was that brat they called son…_

 _The young prince Clayf Highland was famous for being the biggest spoiled brat that the kingdom had ever seen, or so it was said among the people who knew his personally, namely, the caretakers and the companions that walked with him and made him company._

 _The young dragon could be the rightful heir of the kingdom, but he was such a spoiled little brat! He always was bossing people around and acting as if he was superior to other people, and he acted as if he could do whatever he wanted and treat others the way he liked only because he was the heir. None of his parents was like that, and they constantly tried to correct that little brat, but their efforts were proving to be useful until that point. It seemed that the brat was really convinced that he was important, and so, that he could do whatever he wanted._

 _"Give it to me now!" Said a young dragon, a young Clayf, who was much smaller and less impressive looking than he would be years later in the future, with his tail having small spines on it, still budging, and his horns hadn't started to grown yet, and he was almost towering over a younger dragoness, who was holding in her front-paws a ball._

 _"But it is mine!" The young dragoness said, holding tight on the ball, and the young prince didn't liked being defied. "I don't care, I want it!"_

 _"No!" Said the younger dragoness, and he was getting really irritated. "Are you denying something to your prince? This is not smart!"_

 _"Clayf!" Someone called, ad the younger dragon immediately turned his head to look at who it was. He saw another dragon, much bigger than himself, and a lot more tonned. He had moss-green scales and long, massive horns coming out of his head. His tailblade was shaped like an axe, and he had olive-colored eyes, which were focused in the younger dragon._

 _"Father!" Clayf said, looking at the older dragon, the king himself. "Tell her to give me the ball!"_

 _The older dragon looked down at his son, and he looked at the younger dragoness, and he said, "You go play somewhere else, I need to speak to me son." He was gentle as he spoke to the dragoness, who nodded. She looked at Clayf and made raspberry to him and then she darted way quick, leaving the young price angry._

 _"Wha- Dad, did you saw that!?" He asked, feeling outraged, and his father looked down at him._

 _"Clayf, you cannot threat the others like that only because you want something."_

 _The tone in his father's voice made it clear that he was disappointed with his son, and the young prince could not avoid feeling bad because of it. "But I wanted that ball." He said, and the king looked down at him, "But you already have many!"_

 _"Yeah, but none of them is as pretty as that one!" He said, as if this argument was really going to make his father reason in the same that that he did. The older dragon could only sigh as he shook his head, and he said, "Lets go back."_

 _"Okay…" The young prince said, still feeling upset for not getting the ball he wanted, but still, he was also sad that his father was mad at him. And he didn't got it exactly why._

 _I mean, he was the prince, and if he wanted the ball it would only be logic that people would give him the ball he wanted to make him happy. Aftr all, they have done it for him since he was very little. If he wanted something, they gave it to him to make him happy, and seeing him happy was important to them, for he was their future ruler, and they all liked him, right?_

 _In the young dragon's head it made a lot of sense, and it only seemed natural that he should have what he wanted for people liked him the most than everyone else. Including his parents. And this had never been a problem before. But, as he was growing older, it seemed that like things were changing, and it was almost like people didn't liked him as much as before. Not only they refused to give him everything he wanted, but they also now seemed to get either angry or sad if he insisted into getting it._

 _Including his own father, that seemed to get sad every time that Clayf said that he really wanted something, and he got sad with his own son. The young dragon did not understood why things had changed like that. It was something that puzzled him and that he himself failed to completely understand…_

* * *

…But now he understood.

Now, that Clayf was a young adult, he fully understood the reason why people had changed with him.

In the past, when they gave him what he wanted, he was a baby, and he was used to have everything for granted at any time he wanted. However, as he grew, people started to expect him to be more mature, to understand that not everything in the world would come to him for granted, and that he should not always expect to have things his way always. That he was going to have to learn to respect what was of other people, to put their needs above himself, to understand that he was not the center of the universe, and to know that things does not always come for granted.

That was the source of his parents' sadness, as it teared their hearts to see their young one, a child who was supposed to be good, turning into a spoiled brat that was ready to go over others to get what he wanted in life, and who was used to have everything his way and threat others as he wanted only because he was the prince and he thought he was the most important people of the world.

Clayf knew now, as he was putting the table for himself and Apollonir, the guy who let him live with him, that if he always acted like that he was never going to get anywhere. That the only thing he would succeed to do would be to make people don't like him and bring bad attention to himself. He would never get anywhere in the world if he only acted as he wanted and if he always expected thins to go exactly the way he wanted.

He knew it now.

He just wished he could have realized it in time to see his father get proud of him...

* * *

 _Clayf woke up with the smell of smoke and the sound of screams and roars._

 _The young dragon looked around at his room, full of toys and other things that had been in there, gifts from the people, and he was hearing the sound of the screams and roars coming from his window._

 _He could see orange light coming from the window, followed by horrid screams and also voices roaring loudly, as if they were cries of anger and of war. The young dragon recoiled in his bed, feeling scared. He didn't knew what it was, and he didn't liked it. He wanted it to stop!_

 _He almost jumped out of his own scales as the door of his room suddenly flew open, and he could see his father entering in his room._

 _Clayf had already saw his father many times, however, he had never saw him like that. The bulky dragon looked tired, as he was panting and sweating, as if he had ran several miles without stopping, and he had dried up blood on his claws and on his mouth, and he had also some leaking from wounds that were on his body._

 _Upon that vision, the young prince could barely even move as he had got paralyzed by fear. He could only looked at the dragon as he was seemingly paralyzed by the feeling of fear that creeped into him. "D-d-daddy?" He said with a shaky voice, and the older dragon simply ran to him, and took him in his arm, before rushing to out of the door and in direction to the hallways._

 _The screams were continuing, and also the sounds that seemed like explosions and roars, and also there was the clear sound of battle, even though prince Clayf was too young to understand. He knew that these sounds were no good, and he knew that there was going to happen something bad, or that it was already happening, and that scared him, more than anything in his life had ever scared him before._

 _"D-daddy, what is that?" The scared young dragon asked his father. "Make it stop!"_

 _But his father did not answered to him, he was too busy running around and looking to all sides, as if he was searching for a escape route. The young dragon could only curl over himself in his father's arms and whimper as he kept hearing the sounds of battle and the screams._

 _But he didn't wanted to hear it. It was to horrible and too scary. He didn't liked it. He wanted it to stop._

 _"King Terrador!" Someone said, and the young dragon looked to see one of the dragons that made his father's personal guard walk in, looking wounded and covered in blood, and he was panting and limping on one leg. "They broke in the castle! They are heading this way!"_

 _"We have to get out! NOW!" The king said as he turned and started to run with the young dragon in his arms, who was even more scared than before. The young dragon looked up at his father, whose face was a mask of fierceness and yet there was fear in there. The young dragon was able to perceive it, and that scared him by itself, for he had never seen his father scared with anything before in his young life._

 _The king took his son on his arms in direction to another place, passing and curving after several hallways as he went, the guard following him the best he could, with his limping leg. As they passed, young Clayf could hear a lot of voices talking all around him, coming from the different hallways that connected the whole castle._

 _"Don't let them escape!"_

 _"Find the rulers!"_

 _"He has to be here somewhere!"_

 _"I saw someone running!"_

 _"Don't let anyone escape!"_

 _"No hostages!"_

 _"No survivors!"_

 _"No mercy!"_

 _The young dragon could only whimper louder as he was carried by his father, to what he hoped that would be the farthest away possible from the scary voices. There was just something about them that scared him to no end. He didn't liked feeling scared. He didn't liked what was happening. He wanted it to stop. He wanted to wake up better in his bed and wake up from that scary dream. He wanted his mommy to come to him in the morning and nuzzle him like she always did. He wanted that scary thing to stop!_

 _He wanted it to stop!_

 _But it was not stopping. It was still happening. No. It was getting worse, for the screams were louder and he was coughing up with the smell of smoke that was entering in his nostrils._

 _After a while, he heard a familiar voice. "Terrador!"_

 _He immediat4elly looked to see that they had arrived into a intersection of the hallways, and they had met with another group of dragons, all of them scouting a dragoness. She was light-green in color, almost the color of spring, and she had pale underbelly and a tailblade shaped just like a leaf, and he horns were long and curved backwards like the ones of a gazelle._

 _She normally was a very beautiful sight, but now, she didn't seemed so beautiful. Her body was covered in dirty from the much she was forced to run, and she was panting and she was covered in sweat, and he eyes, which normally were calm and clear, were both wide in panic, and they were blood-shot, and there were still tears flowing from them, as if the dragoness had been crying uncontrollably over the previous minutes that had passed._

 _Still, Clayf recognized her perfectly._

 _"Mommy!" He called out, stretching his legs to her, wanting to hug her so it would be okay. He was sure that if he hugged her it would be okay. It HAD to get okay!_

 _"Terradia!" The king cried out as he nuzzled his wife, and she nuzzled him back. Clayf was nuzzling her too due to the proximity. He was crying now. Tears of fear for what was going on around him and that he was even barely able to understand. However, that embrace lasted too shortly, as his mother broke it, and she said. "Terrador, they have put fire in the palace! They want to make sure that no one escapes!"_

 _The king took only one moment to think about it, and he quickly said. "This way!"_

 _And soon, everyone was running again, and they passed by more hallways, and the king, knowing that place very well, was able to guide them through a way that was their lead to safety. That was their lead to a safe place where they would not have to worry._

 _As they went, however, they heard a voice calling to them. "There they are!"_

 _Clayf didn't had a glimpse of who would that be, but he knew it was bad, for that was one of the scary voices, and it seemed to be angry at them._

 _"Get them! Get the kid!"_

 _Clayf whimpered as he clutched on his father's leg for protection as he was carried, and soon, the dragon was running away with him, and all the group, all of them being followed by the angry shouts and the sounds of rushed footsteps coming from the dragons in that were behind them, some of the roaring in fury as they ran._

 _"Don't let them escape!"_

 _"We have to get that boy!"_

 _"The brat has to die!"_

 _"They all have to die!"_

 _Clayf clutched harder as he somehow knew that they were talking about him. He didn't knew how to explain, he just had the feeling in his guts that they were talking about him, and it seemed that the grownups had noticed it too, for he had heard his mother's voice._

 _"They want Clayf? Why!?"_

 _"He is the heir!" The king said, "They want to eliminate him to destroy the hope of our people!"_

 _Clayf barely heard what his father said, and yet, he didn't understood. He didn't got it why would someone want to hurt him. Everybody liked him. Right?_

 _As they ran, they suddenly came into a halt in the middle of a room. It seemed to be a dead end._

 _"Daddy..." The young Clayf said, holding tight for his dear life into the leg of the older dragon, as he heard a loud sound as the door of the room was locked behind them, and immediately someone started to bang the door from the other side, trying to open it._

 _"They are in here!"_

 _"Put this door down!"_

 _As soon as these words were said, the bagging in the door grew as they were really trying to put it down. Young Clayf held into his father's leg, tears of fear trickling their way down his face._

 _"We are trapped!" Terradia said, looking at her husband. "Terrador, what do we do?"_

 _"Don't panic." The king said, and he walked to the wall, which was decorated with bricks of several different colors. The king pressed them, in a certain order of colors._

 _Red, green, green, blue, yellow, green_

 _As soon as the last green brick was pressed, the door let out a rumbling sound, and it opened apart, revealing a secret hallway._

 _Clayf looked at it, still crying, as well as his mother, who looked amazed._

 _"This leads to the outside passing by a secret staircase." The king said, making them both look at him, as he looked back at both. "It will give a safe escape route."_

 _The queen nodded, and soon she was entering, with her husband by her side. However, as they walked inside, the king passed their son in her arms, and he said "Make sure you two are not followed."_

 _"What?" The queen said, looking at Terrador "But… what about you?"_

 _"We will make sure that they don't find the passage." The king said, standing behind and with the rest of the guards by his side. The queen understood immediately what it meant._

 _"Terrador, no!" She said, but the king was resolute, and he said, "I love you." And immediately, he pressed a button in the outside, and the door that was made of brick immediately closed, sealing mother and son in the other side._

 _"Terrador!" The queen said, reaching out with her paw to press it in the cold bricks that formed the wall that separated her from her beloved husband. Young Clayf too was calling out for his father, but he went unheard, and the only things they heard was "Go now!" Screamed by Terrador from the other side, and he screamed the next part to his wife. "Keep our son safe!"_

 _That seemed to make Terradia stop and think. She looked down at her son. He first and only child, who was still calling for his father, and who was still crying from fear. After a few moments of heavy breathing, she decided that her husband was right. That was the only way._

 _Right after she made that decision, they heard a great slamming sound, and they heard the voice of the evil dragons. "There you are… wait, where are the queen and the brat!?"_

 _Clayf was about to say something, when his mother said, "Shh!" And she immediately started to turn around and move as quietly as she could, as if any sound could give away their position to the enemy, and they could still hear._

 _"What do you want!?" The king demanded, and the dragon only replied with "Where is the brat!?"_

 _Once again, Clayf knew that they were talking about him. He only knew that it was about him, and Terradia knew it too, for she started to go faster._

 _"What do you want with my son!?" The king demanded again, and the dragon said "give us the boy, and we will let you and your wife live!"_

 _"Never!" The king roared, and right after that, there was the sound of roaring and the sound of fight, and then, Terradia started to run as fast as she could, and as she did, tears streamed their way down her cheeks, just like they did in clayf's, as the young dragon was still shaking and scared, as he called out one more time quietly. "Daddy…"_

 _The sounds of the fight vanished in the distance, followed by a deep and pained roar that he recognized._

 _That was the last sound that he ever heard from his father…_

* * *

Clayf and Apollonir were both eating calmly at the food that had been prepared. It was nothing too fancy or too big, since in that place it was hard to get your daily bread, still, it was better than starving.

Both green and red dragons both ate silently, and they both were happy with their meal, even though it was very simple.

"You did good with this." Apollonir said, now being careful with his words as not to make the green dragon said by saying the wrong thing again, and Clayf smiled at him. "Glad you like it."

"Yeah, I just hope we can still eat like that when the crisis comes. People say that some will start to go into the streets asking for money." Apollonir said, and Clayf nodded at him.

"Yeah, that would be bad. The tomatoes are already very expensive. If they raise the price more it will be cheaper to buy caviar."

Apollonir laughed slightly at the green dragon and his sense of humor. He liked living with Clayf. He had come to appreciated the green dragon and they both had come to grow a lot by being close to each other. Even if their relationship had not started the best, now they were very close friends, and the red dragon almost considered the green one to be his brother.

And Clayf, he was thankful for Apollonir. For everything that the red dragon had ever done for him ever since the beginning, and for being there for him in all of the good and bad moments, and for being able to be in there eating by his die now.

Clayf was really thankful for all of that.

Soon they both were finished, and Apollonir picked up the plates and he was just on his way to the kitchen to wash them, so they would be clean to be used un the morning.

Clayf sighed, and he went to walk a little around the house.

Even though Clayf was born into a big and luxurious castle, he had a while to get used to live in a small house like that. Barely had four rooms and the bathroom was… unsanitary, putting it lightly. However, Clayf was happy that he at least had a place to live, unlike some other people who were not as lucky.

He sighed as he walked into the hallways in direction to the few windows that they had in their house, all of them slightly broken, however, there were a few vases with flowers in them. It was somewhat rare to have flowers around the houses of that block, most because most people didn't had the mood to cultivate them with so much more things to worry about.

Clayf, however, had time to care for these flowers, and he was happy that Apollonir gave himself the work of finding and putting them in vases only for him. It made him feel happy. Looking at the flowers and caring for them helped him remember his old home, in Geogaia, before that horrible night came.

The night that he had lost everything.

Clayf sighed as he picked up some water in a cup, and gently poured it into the flowers' vases, one after the other, taking time to see just how beautiful they were becoming.

He knew that they didn't came even close of the beauty of the blossoming of the fields in his homeland, still, he knew that they were probably the closest he was going to get of them again after that night.

Clayf looked sad as he looked at the last flower he was watering. It was a red and white flower with a golden center, and as he looked at it, Clayf found himself levitating back to that night that he would give anything in the world to be able to forget.

* * *

 _One vase of flowers fell to the ground, breaking in pieces, the flowers in it being crushed as the battle around it went by. The whole city seemed to have been set on fire, with scared citizens running from side to side, and the dragons taking up to the sky, but all of them being intercepted by the attacking dragons, who were both in the ground and in the air._

 _They seemed to be determined to take the city, and they seemed to be willing to taek anyone who crossed their way as prisoner, as they were taking everyone and the ones who resisted were killed on the spot._

 _All of the dragons had that same look in their eyes. Their black and soulless eyes. It was one that denoted pure hatred and the wish for destruction, as if they were doing that only for the pleasure of destroying, and that was exactly what terrified everyone the most._

 _Among the dragons that ran in the street, trying to avoid being caught by the invaders, there was one that stood out, for being the queen of the kingdom. Sure, it was harder to recognize her due to the lack of her royal garments and due to the dirty that was covering her, but anyone who took a double look would be able to recognize queen Terradia Geomor._

 _She had came out by a passage hidden by the sidewalls of the castle, after passing by that hidden staircase, her young son still held tightly in her arms as she was running. She was now searching for an escape route, one that would lead her and her son to somewhere safe. Somewhere where the attacking dragons would not follow, and they would be able to recover._

 _She was still suffering, and the tears in her eyes had not yet completely stopped over her husband, who gave his own life so her and their child could have a chance of escaping. She didn't had time to cry over him now, though. She had to keep running, and she had to find a way to save their son, the only family that she had left now._

 _She was able to sneak into the corners of the houses, keeping herself and the precious cargo she was bearing out of the sight of the invaders, and by many times she was almost caught by them. However, she was able to keep herself out of sight just enough so she would be able to reach the borders of the city, passing by many burning and destroyed houses on the way, doing of the invaders who showed no mercy whatsoever. She even had to pass by the corpses of citizens, both dragons and non-dragons who had been mercilessly slaying by the invaders. She had to turn her head not to see it, as well as cover her young one with her wing so he too would not need to see it._

 _As if it was not enough, she had a strong smell of smoke in the air, and she could see big columns of it raising in the air, illuminated by an orange glow coming from beneath, and by the place it was coming, it would only lead her to the conclusion that the gardens and crops were being burned down._

 _These invaders were not only raiding the city. It was like they wanted nothing more than to completely destroy it. But Terradia didn't had time to think of it, for she was more worried about the safety of her son, who was still sobbing in her arms. Clayf was still not quite understanding what was going on, but he understood enough to know that people were attacking his home, and he didn't understood why._

 _"It's okay, Clayf." Queen Terradia said to her son, as they were now getting farther and farther from the heart of the city and the reach of their enemies. "We'll be safe soon, just hold on a little more."_

 _Young Clayf sniffed, and he looked up. "Mommy… This is my fault?"_

 _"What?" Terradia stopped to look t her son, and the young green dragon looked up at her, his hazelnut eyes red and tearstained "These dragons… they want to find me, and they seen to be mad at me." The innocent dragon said, looking up at his mommy, feeling sad and helpless. "They are hurting people because they want me… they hurt dad… Why are they mad at me?"_

 _The young dragon felt more tears leaking from his eyes as he searched for answers in his mother. "Did I did something wrong?"_

 _It seemed to be the first time that Clayf realized that he might have made someone angry by acting the way he did. During the trip, he had remembered the way people always got angry at him when he acted like the way he did, and now, he was wondering if maybe it was all happening just because he made someone angry and they didn't accepted it._

 _For the first time, he was feeling guilty that he might have brought trouble to everyone because he acted like a brat._

 _The mother looked at her young and innocent son, and before she could say any comforting word, those horrible voices came_

 _"Someone is trying to escape!"_

 _"Get it!"_

 _"Kill it!"_

 _She gasped as she knew what it was, and immediately, she sprinted in running, and she knew that she was being followed. She quickly left the city, and entered into the nearby forest that was, and in there, under the close trees, it was hard to get flight, and they would not be able to follow her by the air. All they would be able to do would be chase after her on the ground. Still, she knew that it would be only a matter of time before they reached her._

 _She only knew that she had to keep running, and she was holding her weeping son close to her as she ran from them, and they were still hot in her tracks. She knew that if they were reached it was going to be terrible for both her and her son. She didn't wanted even to think about what they planned to do to them if they caught them. She only kept running._

 _Luckily, her enhanced senses allowed her to guide herself through the woods, while the other dragons seemed not to have such a good perception, and they were now trying to search for her, but they were failing. Still, she knew that sooner or later they were going to reach them, and when they did, she needed to at lest have sure that her son was going to be safe._

 _As she ran, they passed at the edge of a great river, a river well known in her lands, it was the River of Tears. This river extended for miles since it began, and it was known for being peaceful._

 _As she passed by, she noticed that the river had a few things stuck in the shore, like some pieces of junk, some baskets, and even some blankets. That was when it hit her._

 _The forest was still too dense for her to take flight, and she knew that the dragons attacking were now all over it searching for her, and she knew that if she was caught it was going to be the end for her son if he was with her. She already knew that it was only a matter of time until they reached her, however, she believed that there was still hope for her son._

 _She walked to the sore, and picked up an old basket that was big and seemed to be completely whole, ans she picked also a blanket, and she put her son in the basket._

 _"Mommy." Young Clayf said, and his other looked at him, and she said, "Shhh, don't make any noise now, little one." She said, placing the blanket over him and making sure that it hid his form into the basket._

 _"Mommy…" Clayf said once again, and his mother looked at him in the eyes. "Clayf, I need you to remain still and quiet, as much as you can. I know that you are scared, but you need to do it and be brave. Can you do it for mommy?"_

 _The young dragon looked at his mother in the eyes, before nodding slowly, and she said, "Good." And she continued to wrap the blanket over him in the basket, and she approached the river, and she placed the basket in it, making sure that it was able to float. She looked at her son one more time, and she leaned over, to nuzzle him._

 _Tears streamed her face, as she said with a shaky voice. "Mommy loves you Clayf. Never forget that." Right after that, she covered her son's head with th blanket, and Clayf felt like her warmth had gone away._

 _"Mommy!" He said, and his mother said again, "Remain still and silence."_

 _Clayf didn't discussed, he was scared, and so, he did as his mommy told. As soon as that was done, Clayf felt the basket he was in rock slightly, almost as if it was a crib, as it was now being taken by the river._

 _He could hear his mother's voice._

 _"Hey! I'm here!"_

 _Followed by the angry shouts of the bad dragons who wanted to hurt him. He heard more sounds, like fighting and roaring, but they were becoming more and more distant as he felt like he was being carried away by the river._

 _They were becoming more distant, but Clayf could still hear them in the distance. Finally, he heard a long and loud roar, full of pain and sadness, from a voice that was somewhat familiar to him._

 _And then, it was it._

 _Nothing more._

 _Only silence._

 _Clayf was still shaking slightly as the basket he was in still rocked slightly, and the young dragon, after long minutes of silence, broken only by the sound of the water beneath him, called out very meekly._

 _"Mommy..?"_

 _There was no answer. There was only the unnerving silence of the desert and cold forest around him. No voices, no sounds, no callings of dragons, absolutely nothing that would allow him to detect other dragoon around him. Only the dead silence of the forest, covering him as a second, much colder blanket._

 _The young dragon moved very quietly, and he raised the blanket over him only enough to be able to peek his snout out and to look around. All he could see was the dark of the night, and the level of the water slowly moving around him, as he was still floating in the river._

 _"Mommy?" He called once again, as he looked around the small opening he had made only for his snout, but all his eyes were able to see was the dark forest all around him, and all that he could hear were the sounds of the river beneath him and the forest around him. A particularly frightening howl at the distance, most likely of a wolf, made him yelp and hide beneath the blanket once more, out of sight form anyone in the outside, who would only be able to see a blanket that was slightly trembling over a basket which was floating over the river._

 _Clayf was more scared than he had ever been in his life. He wanted to go back home. He wanted to be on his bed. He want his mommy! He wanted his mommy to hold him and sing to him and tell him that it was all going to be okay!_

 _As he whimpered, he remembered that his mother had told him to stay quiet and still. He could do that. He could obey her and stay still and quiet like a good boy. He was going to stay still and silent as he floated, and she was going to come for him and take him to somewhere where that dragons wouldn't find them._

 _That was it, he was going to stand still and quiet and wait for his mother to come and get him. She would come soon._

 _She would come…_

* * *

But she never did…

Clayf had just finished watering that last flower, and he was holding the empty cup in his hands, as he looked at the flower. His home had such beautiful gardens, with thousands… no, millions of flowers like that one, each one more beautiful than the other.

Clayf missed these gardens, and he would give anything in the world so he could see them just one more time.

But he knew that it was impossible. In the day his homeland was destroyed, the attackers had made sure to destroy every single crop that they could find, both the food as for the flowers and gardens, everything. And if they wanted nothing to be left of the place that it once was. He hard that now they were cropping again in there, but there were no gardens, and the crops weren't nearly as big and fertile as they were once again, it seemed that the soil had been destroyed since that day.

That day was a terrible day for all the people who lived in that city, for the loss of their king, queen, and even the young heir, who was presumed dead. Little did they knew that Clayf had managed to escape, that his mother had saved his life in one last sacrifice that she had made for him. That his basket was carried by the river until it got stuck into the shore right in the side of the city of Grahar, and that in there, Clayf woke up, tired, cold and hungry, and that he was found by some people who lived in the outskirts. Between then, a curious young red dragon who approached young Clayf, and took compassion on seeing the young green dragon.

That was his first meeting with Apollonir, and after that, the red and green dragons started to get closer, until they were almost like brothers. Sure, they had a long while to get along, and Clayf was having troubles dealing with the new life in Sliced Neck, as he was used to the life of luxury that he got from being from the nobility and only having the best. It took a long while for him to let go of his spoiled ways, and get used to have to work hard and have little bread to survive. For a while he actually thought that he was not going to make it, and it didn't counting all the times that he had try to run to return home. Of course that Apollonir and the others didn't let, after all, when Clayf told them who he was and where was his home, there was no way that they would let him risk his life to return to a place where he would be killed on the spot if sighted.

Of course that Clayf didn't believed what he had heard, that his home was destroyed and that his family was gone, and that he now had nowhere to return to and was an orphan. He refused to believe it, and instead, he thought that his family was still searching for him and that they were going to come to take him back home soon after the invaders had been defeated. It took a while before Clayf was finally able to understand that he was never going to see his family again.

Clayf was suffering for that, and he was not the only one. The loss of the lands of Geogaia meant the loss of its fertile crops and all of the food that they supplied to the inhabitants of the rest of the land. That meant a hard blown in the aliment reserves of the lands of dragons, and so, it also meant a hard blown to them and their economy, and it meant trouble for the kingdom. The following years were a crisis that leave the dragons in a struggle to find other sources of food and money, once the crops also were sold to other lands, in order to help in the economy of the lands. So, their loss was a great one to everyone.

However, none of their loses was so personal and so deep as it was for Clayf, for he lost his home, his family and all that he had come to known in a single night of fear and destruction. The green dragon still had nightmares with that night, and these dragons which he was barely even to hear the voices. So deep and scary, it was simply terrible.

He shivered every time that the horrible night came back at his mind, and he had to fight back the tears as he thought about his mother, and how she gave herself to save him, so he could escape and live. It hurt him a lot, but he knew that there was nothing he could have possibly done in that night. He was just a child.

Still, the memories of that night haunted him. He knew that it was not his fault. NOW he knew. However, he would still remember the time that the invaders seemed to be interested in him. It was almost as if they wanted him above anyone else.

Sure, it was because he was the heir, and being alive would mean that their plans of taking completely the power would be threatened. Clayf knew now that it was not his fault. That he had not caused the attack and destruction of his home because he behaved like a stupid brat, and that what happened to his home, and to his parents, was not his fault.

However, he could not shake away the feeling of heaviness in his chest every time that he stopped to think about it. Even though it was clear I his head that what happened was completely not his fault, it was not so easy to say so to his heart. He still had the feeling in his chest that, if he had been a better son, a better prince, a better boy, none of that would have ever happened. He would still live in his own home, with his family, and he would still had his father and mother by his side as he grew up.

He missed them.

He missed them more than anything in the world, and he would give anything so he could see their faces again. He would give anything to have back his old and beautiful home, and to be able to hug his family once more, only to have them near him one last time.

"Okay then, I guess it was it!" Apollonir said, walking to him, "I guess we should tuck in to sleep now, I have another meeting with the Quick Shadows and I don't want to oversleep."

Clayf looked at the red dragon, who looked back at him, and noticed the tears perking from his eyes. "Clayf, are you okay?"

The green dragon took a deep breath, and he wiped away the tears that fell from his face, and he said, "Just thinking of the past."

"Oh…" Apollonir said, understanding what did that meant. He knew full well about Clayf's past, for the green dragon had told it to him a long time ago. Sure, Apollonir didn't believed him entirely at first, even with the regal decoration that the young green dragon was wearing when he was found (much of which was sold not too long after), but he started to believe it fully as he heard the news about what happened to the kingdom and the description of the attack that matched perfectly to what Clayf had described.

Apollonir could only imagine what young Clayf had gone through. The red dragon was an orphan his entirely life, and he could not imagine what it would be like to lose his family the way Clayf lost his'. He could only feel sorry for the green dragon who came to become part of his family. It had been eight whole years, since that day, and it seemed that it still hurt Clayf deeply, as it was easy to see in his sad semblance and in the tears that escaped from his eyes. Apollonir didn't mentioned it so, but he still knew that6 it could hurt Clayf very much to remember. The green dragon had lost much more than Apollonir had ever had before, and in that moment, Apollonir could not help but identify with the green dragon.

They both were alone and poor, and they both were without homes. It would be inevitable that Apollonir would come to look for the younger dragon as some kind of older brother, and sure, it had lasted for a long while, with them both still living together and sharing one house and doing all kinds of things that brothers did together. They were each other's family now, and that was why Apollonir got so worried by seeing Clayf suffering like that.

Apollonir approached him, and put a claw over his shoulder, the green dragon looked at him, and Apollonir asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

The green dragon looked at him in the eyes for a moment, and he sniffed, "Nah, its okay." He said, opening a smile as he brushed away the last of his tears. "You know that I just need a few moments to be able to smile again."

It was truth. Clayf had grown to be a very strong young adult, able to smile through most situations, even with the horrible pain that he felt for the lost of his home and family so long ago, he was able to put on a brave face and a confident smile and to raise his head and walk straight to the new day. That was one thing that he came to admire in Clayf in the years that they had been brothers. Still, Apollonir could not shake away that shadow of doubt as he knew that the feeling of loss in a situation like that was really great, and he was worried that Clayf was just trying to be brave by keeping all his pain buried for himself.

Anyway, he knew that there was nothing that he could do, since the green dragon was not the kind that talked if you tried to force him. Apollonir had already tried to talk to him a lot in the past, and it never worked. He knew that it was useless, and so, all he could do was offer his assistance and support to the green dragon and let him know that Apollonir was there for him, and hope that it was going to be better in the morning. Just like he always did in his life.

So, the two dragons went to the room they shared, if you could call that a room. It consisted into a small, decayed cubicle, which barely had enough room for the two to fit, and they laid on their bed (which consisted only into pieces of old cloth), and covered themselves with old, decayed mattresses, and they wished each other a good night, and soon, they both were drifting out to sleep into the cold old house. It would have been very uncomfortable to any person, but luckily (or unluckily) they both had been in there enough time to grow used to it and don't mind at all.

And soon, both dragons were fast asleep.

* * *

Apollonir's head perked suddenly, as he had a sudden feeling in the back of his head, like it was a deadly chill running down his spine till the tip of his tail. The red dragon looked around, his eyes scanning the darkness of the old room and his ears attentive to every sound around him.

That was when he caught the sound, the sound of voices.

"Are you sure we should be here? Did you saw the symbol at the house? The Quick Shadows protect this place!"

"Boss told us to be in here, so that is what we are doing!"

They were both males, for what Apollonir was able to tell by their voices, and he looked at the door that led to the other side of the house, from which the voices were talking to each other, and they seemed to not be careful form the ones on there hearing them.

Maybe they didn't cared for being heard at all, for they thought that the ones no longer lived in there and the house was abandoned. It made sense, that place was so old and decayed that many people still thought that no one lived in there, and that was one of the reasons why Apollonir had chosen to live in that place, for little people would think to try to break in a place like that or to search for someone in a place like that, specially a member of the Quick Shadows.

Apollonir looked over as he could hear the dragons stepping around the house. As he did, Clayf got up from his own "bed" and he looked at the same direction. Both red and green dragons shared a look in the near darkness, and they nodded at each other, the years of life they had together made it possible for them to communicate like that, without sharing words.

Apollonir got up from his bed and moved silently in direction to the door, while Clayf stood right behind him, ready to give him support if things went shout.

As they walked, the heard more voices. "Remember, the place has to be turned upside down at the morning. The guys who boss said must get the message loud and clear!"

Apollonir narrowed his eyes. It was very clear to him what was it. These guys were probably from one of the gangs who disliked the Quick Shadows, and who wanted to put them down. They were there exactly because of the symbol in the front of the house. Their "boss" was probably an enemy of the Quick Shadows, who wanted to have one place under their protection destroyed so he would pass them a message. It was probably to shake them and to defy them directly, saying that he was not scared of them and that he was going to do whatever he wanted and they had no saying in this.

This guy was probably not very brave, either, for he had not come himself, and he was also smart, enough to know that it was better not to tell the guys he hired who actually that house belonged too, once they would not feel very inclined to destroy a house that belonged to a _member_ of the Quick Shadows. It was also probably that this guy himself didn't knew, and they guys themselves didn't knew very well who the message was destined to. The later was very possible, once they talked as if they didn't knew exactly who the message was destined to.

Apollonir had to hold back a grumble, and he only looked at the dragons who had invaded their house.

There were three of them. There was a yellow one with blue underbelly and wing-membrane. There was a bigger one, more brute, indigo colored with black underbelly and wing-membrane. Finally, there was another one, as bulky as the other, this one of grey coloration with maroon underbelly and wing-membrane.

They all were looking around, as if they were deciding what to destroy first. Apollonir knew that there was not much in the house which would be missed if destroyed, but he was not going to let anyone enter in their house and believe that they could do what they wanted and simply walk away.

Apollonir was going to give them a good lesson.

"Hey, you!" He said, not caring to be subtle now. The eyes of the young dragons all turned to them, and they looked at him, all of the shocked. Apollonir looked at them, and he said, "Do you have any idea who this house belongs to?"

He was not going to say, of course, but he was sure as hell that he was going to scare these guys into going away.

"I don't think the Quick Shadows will like of you attacking a house under their protection."

The dragons looked at him for a few moments, and shared a look among themselves, before the smaller one of them, the yellow one, dashed in direction to the door and sprinted away running.

The other ones seemed a bit confused, but they snarled at the red dragon, before both of them turned around and ran out.

Apollonir should have let them go, many people would be thankful for having them going away. However, Apollonir knew that they couldn't just escape. Apollonir wanted to know who had sent them and what exactly was their mission. He knew that if he let them go then maybe who sent them could try again. That was a risk that Apollonir was not willing to take just yet.

"Stay here." He said to the green dragon behind him. "I'll be right back." And with that said, Apollonir get out on running after the dragons.

He didn't had much trouble to find them, after all, these two bulky guys were not exactly the fastest ones. Also, their big size made it better to follow them. And the fact that he was an expert member of the Quick Shadows, he was very versatile in walking in a place like that and he was good in following people, even in the dark.

He only needed a little effort to follow them, and he was able to keep up with them for quite a while. Until the two of them slowed down, and they were panting slightly. That was when Apollonir appeared behind them, and startled the two by saying, "Hey, you!"

They looked at him with wide eyes, and he said, "Look, I don't want problem, just tell me who sent you and I'll let you go."

The two bulky dragons shared a look, and one of them roared as he advanced at Apollonir, his claws and teeth bared and ready to fight as he pounced into the red, smaller dragon.

Apollonir, despite being smaller and weaker, was smarter and far more agile. Apollonir quickly jumped back, landing in his own back as he used his four legs to propel the dragon, making him past straight past him and land with his snout in the ground.

Apollonir them quickly jump-flipped his body and he was back at his feet, staring at the other dragon, who snarled at him.

The other dragon in the back quickly recovered, and looked at Apollonir, snarling as much as the other dragon. Apollonir looked at these two, and he was pretty sure that he would be able to outsmart them, after all, he was a member of the Quick Shadows, and he had already did passed by some difficult situations before. He was sure that he could handle himself without problems.

"You are dead!" One of them snarled, and he advanced to Apollonir, ready to swipe his claws at him, but Apollonir was faster, and he was able to quickly move out of the way, as well as from the swipes of claws that the dragon on his back gave him.

The fight lasted for a few minutes, and Apollonir was starting to get tired, as the two older dragons seemed to have more stamina, even if they were not skilled in combat. Apollonir was starting to wonder if the direct combat was his best option, or the most intelligent choice that he ever made. He quickly got his answer when one of the dragons swiped his paw in the ground and sprawled dust form the ground into Apollonir's face, making the red dragon cry out in surprise and rub his eyes to get them clean, and in that little time, he was hit in the face by a heavy paw that sent him to the ground.

Apollonir groaned as his face throbbed with pain, and he was able to look up, his eyes blinking rapidly as he looked at the two bulky dragons who were looking doen at him. "You are _dead_ , kid." One of them said, as they approached him. Apollonir was about to panic at that moment, when a voice said.

"No!"

Everybody stopped and looked at the source of the voice, who was a green colored dragon. Clayf looked at them, and he said, "Get away from him, now!"

Apollonir looked baffled at the green dragon, and the two other dragons also looked at him, and one of them said, "And who are you? His boyfriend?"

"Get away from him, now!" Clayf cried out again, taking a step forward, and Apollonir could only think that the green dragon had gone insane. Clayf was not a member of the Quick Shadows. He was not skilled in combat and, despite his muscled physique, he was not suitable for direct combat, and he knew it as well as Apollonir. Why the hell he was about to buy a fight with these two!?

"What are you doing, you idiot!?" Apollonir cried out to the green dragon, "Run!"

"Oh, you care for him?" Asked one of the bulky dragons, smirking down at Apollonir. "Good, he can share the lesson with you!"

He said, and turned at the other dragon, Apollonir tried to protest, but the other bulky dragon stepped over him, pinning him to the ground with his big and strong paws.

The dragon approached Clayf, smirking, "This is going to be fun." He said, with a rather sadistic smile on his face as he approached the green dragon, who only looked at him with ferocity.

Clayf had went after Apollonir as soon as the red dragon had went out, and he saw the fight, and he saw how these two dragons were closing over him. Apollonir was like a brother to him. He was the closest thing to a family that Clayf had, and he had already lost his family in the past, and he was not willing to lose it again. He was not going to let these brutes take away his family.

Just like other brutes like them did before.

Clayf was too weak in the past to defend the ones he held dear, but it was _not_ going to happen again!

The green dragon snarled, as he advanced to the bulkier dragon, with his sharp horns pointed at him. The other dragon only snarled louder as he advanced back, outstretching a paw, and holding Clayf literally at leg's-length. The smaller dragon snarled as he tried to hit the bigger one, only to be raised from the ground and threw back, landing at a few feet away.

"No!" Apollonir cried out as he tried to get up, but the second dragon held him down. He could only watch as the other dragon walked to Clayf and started to beat him with his tail, making the green dragon cry out and squirm every time he was hit. While the blows were not powerful enough to break his bones, they were strong enough to make it feel like his bones and muscles were tensioned to the limit at every strike that hit his body.

Clayf could only try to get up, only to be knocked back down by a blow of that fierce tail, which attacked him mercilessly. The green dragon could only cry out at every hit that strike his body and the bulkier dragon laughed almost sadistically as he hit the smaller one. "Heh! This is getting funnier than I thought!" He said as he continued to hit Clayf. "How strong you think I need to hit to break your bones?"

"Go to hell!" Clayf spat back at him, only to be hit by that tail in the head strong enough to leave stars sparkling in front of his eyes. He could still hear the voice of the other dragon, who mocked him.

"Hah, you barely can defend yourself! You can't barely even stand! I should just kill you and put you out of your misery." He said as he looked down at Clayf, "And when I'm done, I'm going to make the same thing to your little friend."

Clayf's eyes snapped open, as he suddenly felt all of his senses immediately returning to him. He was going to kill both of them! He was not kidding! He was really going to make it!

No!

It could not happen! It could not happen again! Clayf could not allow his family to be murdered again! This was not going to happen! It couldn't happen!

He could not allow it!

"Now, to end this…" The bulkier dragon said, as he aimed his tail right above Clayf's neck, and ready to deliver the lethal blow. Apollonir looked at him with wide eyes, full of horror.

That guy was going to kill Clayf!

That could not happen! Apollonir could not allow it! Apollonir knew that he had only one option at that moment, and that it was to again risking having his secret exposed, and all the dangers that came with it. Still, the risk of being discovered and hunted down as a warlock was the last thing in his mind, as Clayf's safety came before everything else.

Apollonir was ready to try to build it up in him again and breath fire over these two, when a very strange thing started to happen.

As the bulkier dragon started to raise his tail, Clayf suddenly started to glow, what startled the dragons who were seeing it.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"What the hell!?"

Clayf was huffing and breathing heavily, almost snorting, as the glow in his body intensified into the same measure that did his own anger. He looked up at the dragon who looked down at him, as his own eyes glow green, as green as his own body was glowing.

"I lost my family once." The young green dragon said, as his glow intensified, and he roared. "No one is going to take it from me again!"

As he roared, a green glow came from his mouth, and immediately, it projected forward from his mouth, as a focused beam, that hit the bulkier dragon straight in the chest, sending him flying back, and making him land several feet away.

Apollonir and the dragon who were watching could only look completely astonished, both to the dragon who was laying fainted in the ground, and then shifting their gaze back at Clayf, who was still glowing green, as he got up. He was huffing and snorting, and with each breath small dots of green light, very similar to pebbles, leaked from his mouth and landed into the ground beneath him, breaking into green dust and disappearing.

He was looking at the direction of the dragon he had forced away, who was immobile, and then, his gaze turned to the other two dragons, who looked at him as if he was a being from another world. Clayf snorted, and he said, "Let him go… now!"

He was practically roaring, and as he did, pebbles of energy shot out of his mouth and dissipated into the air. The bulkier dragon stammered as he looked at that. "W-W-What the hell!?" He didn't let go of Apollonir though, and so, the green dragon was starting to really get mad.

"Get off him now!" He roared, more pebbles flying from his mouth, and these ones collided heavily into the ground in front of the bulkier dragon and Apollonir, hitting them as projectiles and causing cracks as they broke the ground.

The bulkier dragon yelped, and he got off Apollonir, who finally was able to get up. However, the red dragon was too busy looking at Clayf, the dragon he had knew his whole life, and now, he looked at him as the green dragon was glowing.

"C-Clayf?"

"Apollonir…" Clayf said, giving a step in his direction, however, as he gave that step, immediately he gasped, as if he had fetl a sudden surge of pain flowing through his body, and he started to contort his body.

"Clayf?" Apollonir said, and the green dragon started to wince and to snarl, as if he was really in pain.

"To… much…" He said, as he opened his mouth, and pebbles were flying from his mouth like a Gatling gun, hitting them ground all around, and making cracks in it, as if the power was too much from him to control. Soon the snarls and winces were turning into roars and into whimpers, almost as if Clayf was really facing great pain.

The bulky dragon who was left looked at the dragon, and then, filled with a sudden surge of bravery (or maybe insanity) at seeing the dragon seemingly not to be in conditions to fight, he cried out as he jumped in direction to him, ready to end his life. Apollonir saw, and immediately, before the red dragon himself could even think about it, he opened his mouth and let out a stream of flames, which hit the other dragon square in the body, and sent him flying back.

He landed many feet away, as unconscious as the other dragon.

Apollonir was panting slightly, but he didn't had time to think on what he just did, because a pained cry coming from Clayf called his attention. The green dragon was squirming in the ground, as if his body was convulsing, trying to get used to itself. Now the pebble-like missiles of energy were not only coming out of his mouth, but seemed to be coming from his body, from the glowing green aura that the dragon emitted.

The green dragon never felt like that before. He didn't knew what was happening, and he was in too much pain to care. He never felt like that. It was almost as if he was a fruit so full of life that it was about to burst completely. Clayf didn't knew that it was possible to feel like that. At least not literally, and he was not liking it. The feeling of so much energy in his body, more energy than he should be able to have, it was driving him crazy, and his body was quivering uncontrollably as he was trying to come on a grip into that power in him, as if to prevent it from making him explode. However, the power in him seemed to be too great for him to handle it, and he felt like it would soon reach the breaking point. Clayf soon felt like his body would no longer be able to hold it much more. It was like he had opened a siphon and now he could not stop it from letting it all pour onto him. The pressure inside himself was unbearable.

Suddenly, he felt a weight come onto him, as paws held his body still. The green dragon looked up to see Apollonir, who was over him, trying to keep him hel in place, but his quivering was turning into convulsing, as the energy inside was becoming far too great to be supported.

"Clayf. Clayf! Clayf, calm down!" Apollonir said, trying to make the green dragon relax and maybe stop that, but the green dragon was unable to. He was only quivering more as the energy inside him grew, and now he felt like a barrage at the point of breaking.

"Apollonir…" Clayf whimpered in pain, "This power… i-is too much… I-I can't hold it…"

Clayf had no idea what he was talking about. Yet, he only knew that it was truth. It was literally as if all the power cumulating inside of him was about to explode, and destroy everything around him. Clayf didn't wanted that, but still, he didn't had any choice in the matter. It was too much for him to handle. He didn't had any chance of stopping it. He knew he had. It was only a matter of second now before-

Suddenly, something whacked him hard in the back of his head. The green dragon could only let out a pained and surprised gasp as he felt that blow stun his brain. He barely had time to think as his vision started to darken and to blur, as he was starting to lose his senses.

As he slipped from consciousness, the green dragon felt a relief, as if the power that was on him was dying out as his mind was fading to the blackness of sleep. It was like a burden begin taken from his body as he relaxed and let the blackness enveloped him and making his whole body relax.

Apollonir looked at Clayf, who just fainted from the blow that Apollonir gave in the back of his head with his tail. The red dragon was panting as he looked at the unconscious dragon, and looked all around himself, seeing the damage caused. A lot of ground broke down. Two unconscious dragons, three if you counted Clayf.

Apollonir was just thinking on the fastest way to take Clayf out of there before he was going to be caught, when he heard footsteps. He looked over, and he saw another dragon walking into view, this one was slim and light-blue colored with white underbelly and long slender horns in his head. He was followed by four other dragons, and Apollonir recognized them. They were all members of the Quick Shadows, and they all had a deadly serious looks into their faces, as they looked at Apollonir and Clayf.

Apollonir didn't even needed to try to come up with an excuse, for he knew that it was going to be completely useless. They had surely saw everything, and Apollonir knew that it only meant problem. All that was left for him to do would be try to beg them to not do what they were planning, and to help him, however, before he could, the leader of the dragons stepped forward, and he said, "Is he okay?"

He was talking about Clayf, how was still unconscious, and Apollonir could only look surprised at him for a few moments, before the dragon repeated the question. "Apollonir, is he okay?"

The red dragon snapped out of that, and he only nodded, and the dragon looked at Clayf, checking him for any other wounds, and he said, "We need to get you out of here before anyone arrives." He said, and as he said that, two of the dragons who came with him carried Clayf in their backs, and they started to take him away. At the same time, two other dragons had picked up Apollonir and were helping him stand, and were supporting him as they all walked away, leaving behind a scene of battle and destruction behind, and two dragons in which most likely no one is going to believe in once they told that story. There was no witness.

Or that was what the Quick Shadows had thought.

Hidden into the shadows of the nearby houses, a bulky orange dragon, with six black horns in his head and black wings, was looking at the place with wide eyes. Gorgan had been watching into Apollonir's house ever since the day that Needle had hired him for doing that.

The spiked dragon had paid him an extra for him to keep an eye on Apollonir day and night, and to follow all of his movements. Of course, this led Gorgan to get a little unsure of his own safety, as he still remembered the burned that he was given into the snout and backside by the red dragon, and he was not willing to repeat the dosage. Not to mention the fact that he would have to stay awake overnight to watch the house.

At first he thought that night was going to be like the others, however, it all changed in the moment he saw the strangers entering into Apollonir's house. And then came the chase, and the fight, and now that.

The orange dragon remained in his hiding spot for several more moments, until he was completely sure that the Quick Shadows were all gone and he finally sneaked out of his hiding spot in a very slow pace, as if the slightly sudden motion could bring they all back at him.

He walked slowly, and as soon as the danger of being followed was gone, the orange dragon sprinted himself to run, to go to the farthest away from that place as he could. He knew that he didn't wanted to be near that place, and he knew that he didn't wanted to share the same fate of these two dragons.

As he ran to somewhere he could be safe and out of their reach, he could only think one thing.

 _Needle will SURELY want to know about this._

* * *

"Clayf…" The distant voice called him, and the green dragon groaned to himself. "Mommy… is to early…"

"Clayf… Clayf, wake up."

Wait… that voice… was not from his mommy…

Blinking slightly, Clayf opened his eyes, and the first thing he noticed was the red shape forming in his eyes, and the voice, clearer, was not familiar to him. "Clayf, wake up."

The green dragon continued to blink, and he looked at the red blur, who now had taken the shape of Apollonir, the dragon who he knew pretty well. "Apollonir?" Clayf asked, as he blinked, "I… I had such a strange dream…"

Apollonir had a worried look as he looked down at his foster brother, and he said, "It was no dream."

Clayf was going to know it sooner or later, so it was no use trying to soothe the situation or delay the inevitable. Apollonir thought that it was better to put all the cards in the table at once.

"What?" Clayf said, and suddenly, it all flashed back into his mind.

The noises that woke him up along with Apollonir. The dragons who invaded their house and escaped, and then Apollonir went after them. He followed Apollonir and saw him begin attacked by the bulky dragons and was pinned down. He tried to defend Apollonir, but he was attacked and pinned down, and he was beaten by the enemy dragon. The way he got furious when that dragon claimed that he would kill Apollonir. The anger that he felt building up in his chest… And then…

The green energy. The feeling of excessive power inside of him. The flames that came out of Apollonir's mouth. The feeling of being about to explode. The darkness that had engulfed him soon after.

Clayf was now laid on the bed he was in, and he was full awake, and his eyes widened. He looked at Apollonir, who looked back at him with a worried expression, and he only muttered. "It… it really..?"

A single nod coming form Apollonir was more than enough for the green dragon to not need to ask anything else. Clayf could only look down at the bed he was in, and think about all the things that had just happened, things that Clayf knew by the common sense that were impossible. Things that would go against rational thought and that could only be described as delirious from a insane mind. Still, the memories in his mind let it clear to him that, what had happened, at least from his point of view, was totally and absolutely real.

"How-Gah!" Clayf started to say, but he suddenly was cut by the pain he felt in his head, and he held it as he supported himself.

"Are you okay?" Apollonir immediately asked, and Clayf was able to mutter, "My head…"

"Oh, right…" Apollonir said, and he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "Sorry for that."

Clayf looked at him, "It was you?"

"I panicked and ran out of ideas." The red dragon said in his defense, and Clayf didn't felt like replying to that. Actually, he was quite glad that Apollonir had done that, for he didn't knew what could have happened if he didn't. Clayf then looked around, and he soon saw that they were not in their house.

Actually, Clayf had no idea of where they were. It was a dark place, with several beds in it (true bed, not like the excuse to beds that Apollonir and Clayf had in their house), and it actually seemed that there were other dragons in there, all of them sleeping, and some of them seeming to have recently received medic care, for they had bandages and things of the like in their bodies.

Clayf looked around, and he asked, "Apollonir… where are we?"

The red dragon had a look of grief in his face, as he said, "It is one of the medic centers of the Quick Shadows, the group I'm part of, remember?" The green dragon looked at him, as Apollonir continued.

"After… what happened… the Quick Shadows came, they saw everything, and they took us here. They told us to wait, and to go into the hallway of the left as soon as you felt like it. It seemed that they want to have a word with both of us about… that."

Clayf looked at him, and the look in his face told him that Apollonir didn't knew what it was, but that he knew that it could not be good. So, without more questions, Apollonir said that he was feeling good, and that they should go see what was that. Apollonir agreed with him, both because he knew that they had no chance of escaping and there was no use. The Quick Shadows already knew, and running way would only make things worse in their situation.

Apollonir still didn't understood why they were helped after that moment, but he was being taken in the moment, and he was ready to go with the flow. He knew that he was most likely in a situation, because he did never told anyone about Clayf, not even the Quick Shadows, and now, they knew that both he and Clayf had these "magic powers" (there was no better word to describe them) and that they were maybe something that none of them ever saw before, and that they were possibly dangerous.

As Clayf got up from the bed, and they both walked in direction to hallway that was given to them, Apollonir was already planning what he was going to do. He was going to try calling out for the feelings of the other members. He as going to try to convince them that he and Clayf were not a threat, and he was hoping that they were going to listen and they were not going to freak out over their powers and abilities.

They walked into the stone hallway, which was illuminated by torches, and they came into a big metal door, which was guarded by a bulky and strong dragon, bigger than the ones that they had already faced, and he looked down at them.

Both dragon cornered a little as the big dragon told them to wait, and he went inside the room, and left them alone for a few minutes, before coming back, and telling them to enter. The two dragons soon entered, and they found themselves inside another room, big and circular, and there was some dragons in there, who looked back at them as they walked inside.

Clayf didn't knew these dragons, but Apollonir recognized most of them as members of the Quick Shadows. He had already been in meetings with them before, and that would be exactly like that if the red dragon himself was not the reason of the meeting.

Apollonir continued to pass his eyes through the faces in there, each one of them serious, and all of these expressions making Apollonir worry more, as their situation seemed to get worse. At one point, when he looked at the center of the room, Apollonir gasped at the dragon he saw. This one was bulky, and he had a lot of scars over his body, including two of them which seemed to be very nasty. There was one on his face, seemingly made by a claw, and another at his chest, which formed an X shape. He had deep-forest-green scales and a wood-colored underbelly, and he had a tailblade shaped like a pickaxe, and his horns were long and curved backwards like the ones of a ram, and they seemed like they would make a very good weapon to hammering his enemies to far away. His moss-green eyes looked at the young dragons calmly, as he had a serene expression on him. It was not the expression of the dragon that made Apollonir gasp and feel more worried than he had until now. It was his identity. It was just who that dragon in front of them actually was.

His name was Spartand, and he was the leader and founder of the Quick Shadows.

Apollonir had only been in his presence twice in his years into the Quick Shadows, and he knew that people were only brought to his presence when the situation was really the most serious possible. He usually remained hidden and in the backstage of their doings, and everything about his past was a complete mystery, most people didn't even knew that he existed, and it was better that way, to ensure his safety and to avoid retaliations form the enemies. If they were brought to him, it meant that their situation was far more serious than Apollonir could have ever imagined.

Apollonir suddenly felt a sudden tightness in his heart as he looked at the green dragon, who could most likely decide both of their destinies in a blink of an eye, and Apollonir was, at that moment, very much inclined to think that the worse was going to happen, and that they both would be in deep trouble.

The leader of the Quick Shadows looked at them in silence, and he slowly walked in their direction, with slow steps. He was not a young dragon, and that was clear in his face, still, his musculature let it clear that he was not weak, and the fact that he was the leader of the Quick Shadows was enough to make most people respect him. Apollonir felt his heart racing as the elder walked to them, and he stopped at a small distance.

Surprisingly for Apollonir, he opened a smile, "Apollonir, nice to see you again." The elder said to him. Apollonir always remembered that the green dragon, despite his fierce expression and appearance, could always show a nice and warming face, enough to make people relax, and that also did the trick with Apollonir. The red dragon relaxed for a moment, and he was able to calm down a little. As he walked, the green elder moved his head to the side, and looked at the other dragon.

Apollonir got worried again, and he looked at Clayf. Clayf expression was slack, and he had his eyes widen as he looked at the elder. Actually, Clayf looked as if he had seen a ghost.

There was a long moment of silence as both green dragons looked at each other, before Clayf finally was able to mutter.

"U-u-uncle?"

"What?" Apollonir could not hold it back, and he looked between Clayf and Spartand. The elder had a smile on his face, as he said, "Hello, Clayf."

There was another moment, before Clayf suddenly said, "Uncle Spartand!" And he practically threw himself into the older dragon, hugging him with his front paws and wings, and Spartan smiled as he hugged him back.

Apollonir was baffled at what he was seeing.

Uncle Spartand?

Spartan was… Clayf's uncle?

The red dragon could only look at them as they both hugged, and he could swear that Clayf was sobbing. Tears ran down his face, as he hugged his long lost uncle.

"Uncle Spartand… What… how..?" Uncle was able to mutter, and Spartand finally broke the hug, and he looked at the younger dragon, and he said, "I know you have a lot of questions." He looked in the eyes of his nephew as he said it, and he added, "And I'll be glad to answer to all of them."

"But first, the most important things first." The elder green said as he broke the hug, and looked at the green dragon. "The little thing that happened tonight."

This seemed to snap Apollonir back to reality, and he looked at the elder as he said, "S-sir… I-it was… We were just…" It was clear in his voice that he was scared, but Spartand was quickly to soothe him.

"Relax, Apollonir, you are not in trouble." He said, as he raised a paw to them, and he continued, "But, after what happened, I'm afraid that a little intervention is needed."

Apollonir felt his stomach drop by the way he said that. The elder turned back to Clayf, who was still looking at him. "Clayf, you lost control of your abilities up there, and this could be a dangerous thing if not put in check."

Apollonir looked at him, and he said, "Wait! You know Clayf?"

That was a stupid question, and Apollonir only realized it after the words had already left his mouth. However, the elder didn't took it as a stupid question, for he looked at Apollonir, and offered him a smile as he said, "Yeah, indeed I do, since the day he left the egg. I was his godfather, I gave him the name he has today. His father was my older brother."

Apollonir looked at him as he could not help but let it go through his mind all that what he was hearing meant. It meant that Spartan was the brother of the king of a fallen kingdom and that he, consequently, was a member of royalty himself. It meant that Spartan was another survivor of the great devastation of that kingdom that had escaped and no one else knew about. Apollonir barely could keep up with all that was going on in his mind, as Spartand said, "By the way, I never had the chance of thanking you for taking care for him during so many years."

Apollonir snapped back, as he looked at the elder, and he asked, "So… you knew?"

The elder nodded, and he said, "Yeah, you are good in keeping secrets, but the Quick Shadows don't have secrets among them. That is one of the reasons why we are a good group." He said, gesturing with his wings to the dragons all around him, and Apollonir looked at all of them, and for the first time, he realized that in any moment, none of them had became, even in the slightest, surprised or shocked with what was happening in there. It could only mean that they all already knew. And then, another thought crossed his mind.

"So… you knew about..?"

"You fire abilities? Yes." Spartand said without any rodeos, what caused Apollonir to look baffled once again. "We have known for a while, before your incident with these goons who chased you."

Apollonir once again was left speechless, and now, it was Clayf's turn to talk. "Uncle… if you are here, this means that mom and dad..?" Clayf sounded more hopeful than anything else, but his ghopes died when he saw Spartand's sad expression, and the elder said, "I'm sorry, Clayf. I was the only survivor besides you."

The green dragon didn't need explanation to know what it meant. His parents did not escaped. They were gone, as much as they had always been. He looked down, and after a minute of silence, he said, "Uncle… If you knew where I was… Why didn't you came to get me?"

He looked at his uncle as he said that, and he didn't sounded angry or the like, he only was questioning him about that. The elder looked at him, and he let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry that some of your questions I cannot answer, at least not right now."

He looked at his nephew as he continued, "Now, the most important thing is to take care of your training."

"Training?" Clayf and Apollonir both asked at the same time, and the elder nodded at them.

"Your powers developed too fast for you to fully control them." Spartan continued, talking as if he really knew what was going on in there. "We have to start to train you so you will be able to control them and not lose control like that again. Because, if next time you did that in the broad daylight and in a place full of people, it could very well be a disaster."

The dragons shared a look, as much more questions popped in their heads, all of them at the same time. "But… how you will train him?" Apollonir said. "How do you _know_ how to train him?"

"I have my own ways." Was all that the elder said to the two younger dragons, and he added, "But, it is late, and you two have had a very agitated night, and I guess that it would be a loss of time to discuss it with you two tired and unable to focus. I'll let you two rest and we can discuss it more clearly and calmly tomorrow in the morning, what do you say?"

He had a smile in his face as he offered this solution, and the two dragons were slightly speechless. Apollonir didn't knew what to think, once he had found out things that he had never even imagined that could possibly be true or happen at all. Clayf, on his side, could only think that his uncle seemed to not have changed. Even though he was known back in his homeland for being fierce in battle, he was also known among his own family and cohort to be the one who always made people smile. Some said that if he was not a member of the royal family he could very well have became a jester. The two dragons took a few moments to recover, and they soon were agreeing that it would be better, for they suddenly were feeling very dizzy as they were still trying to just take in all the information that they had just received. Their head were spinning and they were feeling deeply tired and unable to think precisely, and maybe a good night of sleep was really going to make them good.

So, Spartand put two dragons to the work of scouting Apollonir and Clayf to a place where they could sleep, and where they would be safe, and so, the two dragons were led away from the room. As soon as they were out, Spartand had a final word with the dragons in there, and they all went their way, leaving Spartan alone with just a few members of the Quick Shadows to make him company. As he was there, he looked up, and he couldn't help but think to himself, as if he was really talking to someone else.

 _Draconia, it is happening, just like you told me years ago._ He put a hand in his own chest, over the scar that was on his chest, as he thought. _I just hope that you're right, and that you'll protect them… that you'll protect us all._


End file.
